Bertie, my housemate, came downstairs with a book she wanted to share on Saturday night. It's called: The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective. And before anyone rejoices or gets bent out of shape because it says "Christian" - just hold on. It's awesome.
We found out (by Bertie reading it out loud to me) that I am a #5, with severe bits of #1 - a combo which is not actually possible on the Enneagram. But it's true. When she was reading things from the section on #5: The Need to Perceive, I kept saying, "Yes, that's ME!" It's was enlightening and freeing, to know I'm not the only one like me (although - I've been finding that out here in Library School - we're all very very much alike).
I wanted to include some of the greatest lines from the section about me. These writers know how to use language, just you wait:
"They sense in themselves an abyss of emptiness."
"Their inner world is the only free space in which they could [as children] move undisturbed."
"A lack of security and the feeling of homelessness and loneliness can lead to Fives' creeping inside themselves like an animal that plays dead when danger approaches." (Wow! I'd never have been able to put those words with that feeling, but now that you mention it...just kidding, I think. Emphasis is mine.)
"By nature they are monks, hermits, ascetics [professions I've always dreamed about - honestly - since childhood I've been overly intrigued with monks and ascetics], bookworms, LIBRARIANS..." (Seems that I've picked the right profession, huh?)
"Their eyes are like vacuum cleaners."
"Most Fives find too many people and too much closeness fatiguing and exhausting." (AMEN! I really thought that was just me! I'm glad it's not.)
Elaine, this one is for you: "Fives can take on schizoid traits; they can develop forms of autism..." (Guess Mom was right.)
And for all my dear friends who know me, this is the ultimate reason why I am a Five:
"When you touch a Five, [she] generally gives a start or jumps back."
If you want to know more about me, my pitfalls and my strong points, or anything about yourself, read this book:
The Enneagram: The Christian Perspective Richard Rohr and Andreas Ebert. New York: Crossroad Publishing, 2002.
2 comments:
Wow, that is scary right! What is the One that you had traits of? That is so accurate it actually makes me afraid to read my own. Not sure I want to have all the details of my issues laid out before me...
-Em
Well, for starters, #1's are perfectionists. In childhood they try to be model children - doing the "right" thing always. They have an incredible verbal relationship in their mind - that doesn't make total sense - but self-talk. That's what I mean - it drives them, and often defeats them. They try to repress their needs and feelings. Any of THAT sound familiar?
But don't be scared of it. You'll love it, I promise.
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