photograph by Sophia Muller
by Carole Dufault
This summer my sister and I went to the zoo to visit a pair of two-toed sloths. Upon arriving, we found them tucked into a corner of their enclosure, dozing. Half an hour later, and 15 minutes after the zookeeper put food out for them, the female reached out a limb very slowly and poked the male. His response was to slowly edge out of reach of the disturbance and exhausted by the exertion they both drifted off.
The male woke after a period of time and started to make his way down the branch where the pan of food was. Although the distance was 3 feet at most, it felt like an interminably long pilgrimage. He picked up a piece of lettuce, chewed a few times and then nodded off, the food still in his mouth. In the meantime, the female’s nose was twitching and her head turning slightly toward the pan but this act took such great effort that she too fell back asleep. Eventually the male awoke and started chewing again, then turning his face toward the heat lamp for one…two...three seconds, his drowsy head fell onto his chest for another siesta.
I was fascinated watching these somnambulant creatures. As the animal whose behaviour reflects the archetypal human 9 space on the enneagram, sloths are great teachers and observing them was very thought provoking.
Where do I lack the will to make the effort to respond to life? Where do I resist chewing, ingesting and digesting the daily food of my life experience? Where do I fall asleep to the call to lift my face to the warmth of the sun and the source of life?
It is an insidious quality to be content with dozing at the edge of my own life and unlike the sloth who can only be what is in its nature, Love calls me to waken and to freedom. May it be so.
Carol Dufault
says, "I am passionate about working with people who are curious about themselves and the world around them. I love exploring big questions that have no tidy answers and being with people as they discover their own inner wisdom. My work at the Inscapes Centre for Enneagram Studies, whether it is with groups or individuals, fills my heart with gratitude for the privilege of being human together."
