All Hallows Eve: Personality Inventories

The monstrous is a constant temptation for all of us.

“No one is to be called an enemy, all are your benefactors, and no one does you harm. You have no enemy except yourselves.” - St. Francis

“From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties, and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!” - A Scottish Prayer

My mind is awash with memory…and the conundrum of what makes for an enemy in days like these. Do we want enemies or are they simply inviting themselves in?

This morning, I will make pancakes. Lots of pancakes. And sausage. It’s a simple meal. Nothing extravagant. But it often comforts us.

There was a silly post going about on Instaface about personality types and all the tools that exist to suss out what is going on for each of us as we attempt to live and work with others in community. All of them are tools, no more. And they can be quite helpful in getting conversations started when conflict arises.

How do we better understand one another? How might we be more compassionate? More open to other ways of walking through the world?

The residents of Richmond Hill recently engaged in a conversation using DiSC. It’s a tool developed by a psychologist in 1928. You can read more about it here.

It would seem that, out of the four basic types, I am an “i”, the Influencer. Of those gathered for the conversation, I was the only one. We laughed. As the so-called executive in the system, it’s rather interesting for Everyone Else to be another type.

The Influencer: “People with i styles present a high-spirited and lively demeanor. They are often optimistic, warm, and social. People with DiSC i styles are more likely than other styles to shape their environments by influencing or persuading others.”

It’s not wrong.

Just for further reference…I am also an Aquarius (1/27). My Meyers-Briggs is INFP. And I am an Enneagram 9w8.

Again, none of these are wrong, per se. Of course, we are always more complicated than any tool can estimate. Taxonomies can take you only so far. But as far as tools go, I find them useful and entertaining.

So, what does this have to do with anything? I’m not sure yet.

As Francis offered above, the enemy in any system is usually ourselves. Everyone else is there to teach us something about grace and compassion. I love this. And I want to cover my ass by praying for protection, because a lot of folk don’t walk through the world that way. Instead, they behave in monstrous ways.

The monstrous is a constant temptation for all of us. It’s just easier in the short run to smash shit rather than practicing vulnerability and kindness.

Today, I will put in some vampire teeth and see who notices.

Y’all be excellent to each other.