Diversity is Beautiful: Which of These Best Describe You?

Inside: Diversity is beautiful and needed. When each of us honours our wiring and operates in our strengths we form a beautiful whole. Have fun with this short quiz and identify which of these 5 plants or fungi most feel like you!

I like messy people. Colourful, honest, owning the truth of who they are people. Vibrant and curious humans who are committed to doing the brave and vulnerable work of stripping off harmful conditioning, unearthing deep roots of not good enough, and breaking chains that keep them mired in grief and anger and fear.

I’ve worked hard to get here to a place of greater freedom, permission, and joy (including a lot more humor and laughter), in simply being who I am without shame or judgement. And I care about helping to build a kinder, safer world for others who don’t fit easily or well into this noisy, hustle-oriented, soul-crushing and performative culture.

Life is never static and we’re all still (and always) growing into the fullness of who we are as we move through different life seasons and experiences. What remains the same is that diversity is beautiful and needed.

I love walking the same wooded trail in every season. I like the familiar rhythm of it mixed with the opportunity to pay attention to what’s growing or dying in season, scouting for wild life in Autumn, breathing in the shifting scents of winter to spring and summer to fall, and I love that the tall, tall evergreens remind me to look up and exhale.

I like the scruffy untamed bits the most; the moss and lichen, the bright mushrooms that peek out here and there, the rough bark that beckons me to lay my hand upon it and remember myself.

diversity is beautiful and needed!

Many of us wrestle in some seasons with feeling like we should we better, more, or different from who and how we are. Self-help noise is strong, if we don’t easily fit into the 9-5 box we can feel like we’re bad, wrong, or broken. And comparison pulls us out of the moment and more importantly, it pulls us out of our lives. It distracts us, discourages us, diminishes the incredible beauty of diversity.

There was a time in my life, after years of despising myself and wishing myself away, that it dawned on me that there are no life rules that dictate I must be any different from who I am – with all my strengths and weaknesses. All my particular hopes and desires, pet peeves and personality quirks. I simply am. You simply are. And it is good.

Yet, we’re not meant to be the same!

Learn to honour your wiring through flexible, sustainable, and values-aligned habits, rhythms, and practices that support you in building the life you want and expressing the full truth of who and how you choose to be in the world. Loosen your grip, show up curious, and learn to honour your wiring through a soul-sustaining practice of seasonal living.

Learn more

Which Interesting and Much-Needed Plant or Fungi Are You?

Have fun with this short quiz: simply identify which of these 5 plants or fungi most feel like you! Clearly, we don’t fit into any box. But if you’re anything like me and have fun with typology you might enjoy this.

(I recently enjoyed this podcast about mushrooms and always look to nature for wisdom and encouragement so when my brain started playing with the quiz idea I decided to share it with you.)

1. Are you, I wonder, an aspen – poised, shimmery, a confident leader, connected and community oriented? You may at times forget that you’re more than your beauty and accomplishments. Your root system is complex and your impact is mighty.

2. Or a dandelion – humble, persistent (one might say stubborn), deeply rooted and resilient and not easily destroyed. You sometimes wish you were fancier or feel not quite enough. You quietly spread your influence wide and far.

3. Or are you more a mushroom – mysterious and magical (medicinal or poisonous), misunderstood and clothed in many colours? You don’t want to fit in yet at times grieve that you don’t fit easily into the status quo.

4. Perhaps, instead, you’re more akin to moss – gentle, considerate, a soft landing place for those who need shelter. Your compassion runs deep and at times you need to be reminded that you have needs too!

5. It may be that you resonate more with the Redwood – a grandfather tree, wise, trustworthy, keenly observant, you exude strength (though occasionally need to be reminded of your strength and gifting) and help create stability in the world.

building a beautiful whole

When each of us honours our wiring and operates in our strengths we form a beautiful whole. Families, communities, countries, and this big messy world are healthier when we respect and welcome diversity.

This world doesn’t do a great job of honouring diversity, though. In many cases we try to eradicate it, homogenize it, crush it’s soul in the name of conformity.

The lure of masking, hiding, suppressing ourselves in order to fit or “belong” can be strong. This is why it’s so helpful to check in regularly to notice what we’ve picked up that we need to release (harmful belief systems or internalized narratives for instance) and what we want to receive or make space for instead. It’s anchoring to check in with our core values and unique life vision and to pivot or reorient as often as needed.

Forcing ourselves to be who we’re not – or trying to measure up and keep up with anyone else’s standards – keeps us from blooming into the fullness of who we are. Leaning into our strengths frees up breathing room and energy for what matters most to each of us. Owning the truth of what we want and need no matter what anyone else thinks, honouring our unique wiring, bringing our messy and needed gifts and creativity to the world. THIS is how we build a beautiful whole.

Many of us reach middle age scarred, weary, and a little beat up, in part because of how often we’ve tried or were pressured to squish ourselves into places we didn’t fit. Places we hoped to belong. The truth is, sometimes life feels easier in the short-term if we can make ourselves follow the status-quo.

But freedom and wholeness, and mind-body-spirit health, can only live and thrive in the full truth of who and how we are. In self-acknowledgement, and celebration, and making good friends with ourselves.

Diversity is beautiful and needed. Who you are is needed.

Krista xo

NOW WHAT? If it feels fun, let me know in the comments which of the five plant options feels most like you AND share your Enneagram type if you know it.