Here… take this test…

No, it will not tell you what kind of inner animal you are, or which city you should live in or the two words that describe you. Okay okay, don’t judge - I’ve occasionally wasted my time on some of those. This one is fun, but it may require you to take a step back, open your imagination, bend your mind, stretch your senses into unfamiliar spaces, and yes, have fun.

It’s a writing exercise I created for kids in my daughter’s class. I watched them squirm and smile; stare in confusion, jumble the five senses, tie them to emotions, and delight in the product of their elastic imagination…

Yes, we started with quizzical looks, giggles and grins, “this is weird”s, creased brows of introspection… but went on to share imaginative ideas as: ‘basking in lemony sunshine’, and ‘strawberry sunsets’ and ‘being brave like a big oak tree’ and ‘the drink of lemonade – that tasted like the sun’. Yes we giggled, we watched the five senses get muddled, we watched imagination open. We had fun.

A mom laughed and said that she ought to try it too.  I realized then that it requires some amount of courage and letting go to allow our mind to venture into the not-so-typical, to give permission to our brain to muddle the senses, to not know where our imagination is headed, to allow ourselves to feel with more than the usual sense.

It seemed like a lot to ask – but the kids had fun. But now I’m curious to know what adults think of it - how easy or hard it seems, how fun or weird it feels, it is simply spontaneous or is it a challenge...a dare?

So here…take this test…

As I suggested to the kids: try closing your eyes when you think of answers (hmm…mostly to discourage them from peeping into their neighbor’s work), but shut eyes allows me to let go of all else; allow your senses to take over; keep it true and have fun!!

1.       What does laughter taste like?                 

2.       What does anger sound like?                    

3.       What color is joy?                                           

4.       What does defeat smell like?                     

5.       What size is bravery? Describe it.             

6.       What color is fury?                                         

7.       What shape and movement is a giggle?               

8.       If you could touch fear, how would it feel?

9.       What flavor is sunshine?                             

10.   What temperature is sadness? What moisture level? If it were a location, what/where would it be?

11.   If you could touch shyness, how would it feel?  

12.   What does happiness smell like?