Meet Sadness.

She’s a bittersweet necessity to our humanity and well-being. Sadness reminds us that true happiness comes from honoring both our sorrows and our delights. Crying helps her “slow down and obsess about the weight of life’s problems.” She encourages us to sing the blues - loudly and with good friends.

Longing child – I Am One Who holds the grief of painful losses deep in my heart. Never harsh or overbearing, the feeling is always within my reach. Floating to the surface unexpectedly at times, Sadness reminds me to honor and care for her. I still search for solace in the miracles of life.

Global grief/compassion – I Am One Who feels the weight of the world's sorrows and injustices heavily on my shoulders. This drives my passionate, relentless battles to solve and resolve. My Sadness is expansive, often intermingling with Fear and the Anger of frustration. Why can't the world be a more peaceful place? How can humankind be so awe-inspiring, and yet so evil? I cry with helplessness as I witness it all. 

Reflections on this process:
My search for the faces of Sadness in my deck helped me to better understand my Grief/Compassion card, which has continuously shifted between my Council and Committee suit. More exploration to do with this energy, that’s for certain.

Meet Anger.

He’s there to define boundaries, and make your limits known. He cares deeply about things being fair. Blunt and direct, his rants are all about taking care of you.

(For me, the voice and film’s caricature of Lewis Black is a perfect match for my angry self. Indeed, when I am ranting in my head, I often hear his voice!)

Reflections on this process:
There was never as doubt as to which (one and only) card fit this important emotion. It’s one of the first cards I made, and I cherish its honesty and intensity.

And in case you’re wondering, the photo of the young girl in the card is not me. But it could be!

Meet Disgust.

Her main responsibility is to keep you from being poisoned - physically and socially. Disgust has impeccable taste and seeks to keep you safe, particularly from ridicule or any level of uncool. She prevents us from making too many little mistakes, and helps us develop discernment to serve our needs. She seeks to keep us happy, in great style.

Judge, Inner Snob - I Am One Who watches in judgement, particularly of those who are all puffed up. Riding on impeccable taste and discernment, my view is often straight down my nose. "Pearls to swine" I mutter when feeling I've wasted my energies on the undeserving. I Am also One Who, through my astute choices, has brought you wonderful experiences, beautiful things, and well-apportioned doses of sophistication. I've also selected some stellar friends who can't be beat.

Call on me to temper your own pride - and remember how silly the boastful frigate seems as he desperately seeks attention.

Inner Critic - I Am One Who keeps you ever-working toward a kinder view of yourself. Yes, I over-do sometimes, and call you"idiot" far too often. I inspire your healthy strides to be your best and truest self. Icy cold at times in the mirror, I may suggest you're not an attractive creature. But I do want the best for you, really I do. Know I'm also there when you're feeling gorgeous from inside out. Perhaps I'll try "criticizing" you for criticizing you. Good idea.

Working with Judge, I can encourage wise discernment and personal growth. Call on  the brighter sides of each of us.

Reflections on this process:
Wow. While I always knew these cards were related, I had not noticed how similar they are in construction. Amazing. Two awkward yet majestic birds, a frigate and a condor, there to teach me -

We Are Ones Who remind you that appearances and assumptions can be misleading. View others and yourself more gently and more deeply.

Frightened Child - I Am One Who is halted by the scary images and sounds of evils lurking in the dark. Why such terrifying things out there to "get" me? I look to those older and wiser to help me make sense of the horrors, and to learn how to proceed with caution. I want to be braver when I grow up.

Leaping through the jaws of danger - I Am One Who knows what danger lurks in oh so many situations. Visible or shadowed, it's there, ready to snap and injure me. I leap like a dolphin among orcas, counting on some skilled maneuvers and plain good luck. Fears to the winds, I will keep moving (or retreat selectively) and safety will greet me.

Reflections on this process:
Interesting that I found no fearful "adult" cards in my deck. The closest thing was Leaping, and it felt right to include it here. I have been called "fearless" many times. Is that a bad thing? Should I have a fear card in addition to the Frightened Child here? For now, I think not, as I love that card and feel she holds all the power and importance that needed from requisite "Fear." I"ll see how she works with the other emotions on my Inside Out team. This is quite a revealing process so far.

Meet Joy.

She’s oozing with positivity and bliss. She’s fun and she’s dedicated to happiness. Joy’s a good leader and her enthusiasm can be infectious. Her dark side (until the film proceeds) is that she wants to exclude other emotions, particularly Sadness) from taking up space in Riley’s brain. Joy is particularly uncomfortable when Sadness tries to reinsert herself into Riley’s memories. 

Happy Child – I am One Who is at the core of your Joy. It all started with me and I am here for you always. I am your purest form of happy, your simplest form of glee. I see nothing in my way and understand no reason to be anything but content.

Enthusiasm – I Am One Who feels the Joy of Spirit, the driving force of the Divine, within me. I am often your nourishment to continue on difficult paths, to reach the summit. I also infuse your fondest memories. I can be surprisingly infectious and a powerful tool of leadership. However I may also be overwhelming and relentless to others within me and outside me.

Just Being – I Am One Who simply is. I am Divine Contentment, the grown up version of your Happy Child.  (I thank Mariabruna Sirabella for encouraging me to make this card several years ago.)

Reflections on this process:
I have many joyful cards of me doing enJOYable things (e,g, Traveler, Cook, Gardener, Water Lover, Playful Self), but these three were the ones that fit the large concepts of our friend, Joy. I will work later to find Joy’s presence within other Committee cards, but these will do for now. Interesting that I have included child and adult Committee cards for Joy.

We will each have not only our own cards and images for these characters; we’ll refine the terminology to find the specific names or labels that serve us.

If you haven’t seen Pixar’s wonderful “Inside Out” yet, please do so! It’s brilliant on its own, but even more so when one is a SoulCollage® enthusiast. The animated action takes place mostly in the mind of 11-year- old Riley where Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), Fear (Bill Hader), and Anger (Lewis Black) struggle individually and in concert/conflict to maintain her well-being and eventually, peace of mind. The concepts are wonderful, such as the essence of core memories, the subconscious (“where they take all the troublemakers”), the “dangers” of abstract thoughts (they look like a Picasso and disintegrate easily), and the power of our darkest fears (which for Riley, includes broccoli).

The moral of the film is quite simply that all of our parts (emotions, in this story) must be honored, and that they're most helpful as a collaborative team. And although Joy must learn to back down and allow Sadness to be present, the team is in agreement that Joy is their best bet when a leader is needed. (There's a recurring refrain of "Joy would know what to do.") This is a wonderful message indeed, that the balanced pursuit of happiness is a good thing, and that life is best when Joy is functioning as an inclusive leader. Even in our deepest sorrows, we want Joy to be pulling things her direction eventually. Perhaps Joy carries hope more strongly than the other characters, not only for Riley, but for her neurological command center colleagues.

I am particularly excited about these perspectives and lessons, as they overlap substantially with my SoulCollage® Card Games, which focus on embracing and integrating the whole deck and thus, all of our parts.

So, during the month of July, I’ve decided to explore the 5 core emotions of Inside Out in my own SoulCollage® deck. I will begin with Joy. My plan is to find a card(s) that represents each emotion and to hear what they have to say. I suspect I’ll also find define new cards that I’ve yet to make. I’ll also do some reflection on the film’s messages and larger themes.

When I’ve done all five, I will work with them in dialogues to understand their group dynamics and possibilities as a team. This should be fun, and revealing! I hope you’ll enjoy my musings and share some of your own.

Stay tuned! I'll share it all here.