Sloths are mammals that inhabit only few places on our planet.
Since their discovery, people have been fascinated by their appearance and living habits.
In a symbolic way, sloths definitely inspire us and make it easy for us to imagine a personality that resembles a sloth. They are symbols of diplomacy, relaxed way of life and altruistic behavior.
Sloth traits and characteristics
Slow – Sloths are well known for being slow. Better yet, they hardly move at all. An average sloth needs almost all day to cross over several trees when he is in search for another sloth or shelter. This is why these animals are easy to imagine through people’s personalities.
Relaxed – Sloths seem like animals that don’t have a care in a world. They spend almost all day lying on a tree branch and enjoying the weather. Since they can easily hide from predators by climbing high up on a tree, there seems to be nothing that can ruin their daily chill.
Sloth as a totem
As totems, sloths are symbols of diplomacy, enjoying life and care for others. People born under this symbol are people who know how to enjoy life. They tend to lead pretty careless lives and many envy them because of that.
Even when times get rough, they know how to adapt to changes and take some time to think about their next move. Being this way helps them cope with problems easier than others because they avoid worrying about things that are not important in life.
People born under this totem enjoy helping others as well. Their altruistic nature is something that sets them apart from everybody else and they tend to choose professions that allow them to express this trait. “Sloth” people choose professions like doctors, social workers and nurses. These areas of work bring joy to them and to people they take care of.
This totem symbolizes diplomatic behavior. People born under this totem are great diplomats and if they can solve something with a conversation they will. You will rarely catch them angry or upset about something.
They are simply not born to be aggressive and nothing can make them become that way. Careers in politics and teaching are also very suitable for people born under this totem, since they have a lot of patience when working with others.
Sloths symbolize shyness. Even though people born under this totem know how to stand up for themselves when they need to, they usually go for a more aggressive approach only if there is no other way.
“Sloth” people tend to keep everything for themselves and they rarely speak their minds. Instead, they love spending their time thinking about new ideas and new projects they are going to bring to light.
Meditation and deep introspection helps these people feel comfortable in their own skin. When others know too much about them or when walls of their personality get broken by others, they feel uncomfortable.
Being patient and graceful in all situations is something they are well-known for. People trust them and whenever they feel like they need a good advice, “sloth” people are the first ones to come to. Even though these people love helping others, they don’t like receiving help.
Some might say they are a little bit stubborn and hard to reach, but this is simply the way they are.
Overall, people protected or guided by a sloth totem are lovely people to have in your life. They will be loyal friends and partners who will always put your needs in front of their own.
Sloth as a symbol in a dream
Sloth dreams can have different meanings. Sometimes they bring us good news and other times they bring us warnings about things that are about to happen. If you had a dream about a sloth in general, then this dream represents your life.
Perhaps you tend to be too relaxed and careless when it comes to certain things. This causes you to miss chances in life that could potentially be very important for you.
If you had a dream about a dead sloth, then this dream means you will get a great opportunity that is going to change your life.
This opportunity is going to completely change your way of thinking. Since change is something you need, you will be more than happy to embrace this new opportunity.
Dream about a sloth in your arms is a symbol of love and kindness. You feel loved by someone and everything feels perfect in your life.
Sloth as a symbol in different cultures
Sloth symbolism has been restricted to those parts of the world where sloths have their habitat. But, after they have been discovered by the Western civilizations, sloth symbolism grew stronger.
In Buddhism, sloths are known as thina-middha. They are one of five nirvanas and these qualities are the ones that help people see the truth in things. Even though many confuse sloth’s way of life with meditation, Buddhists believe that meditation is something far more complex than simply sitting calmly and doing nothing.
In Christianity, sloth is considered to be one of the deadly sins. Because of this, sloths as animals are considered to be a perfect example of a behavior that is not accepted by the church.
People who spend their lives in sloth (referring to faith and prayer) and being unproductive have a special place reserved in hell. All branches of Christianity have a similar opinion about sloth and they all condemn this kind of behavior.
In Hinduism, sloth is seen as something negative and destructible for the human race. Overall, sloth symbolism is not very positive.
But, when we look at these creatures they instantly put a smile on our faces. They radiate positive energy and help us see life as something positive.
These animals enjoy life to the fullest, and even though their symbolism was negative through eyes of our ancestors it is beginning to change.
Sloths often appear in movies and children TV shows as beloved characters. Their symbolism switched from something negative to something completely opposite.
People even give them a special place on their bodies by tattooing them. Symbolism of sloth tattoos are positive energy, enjoying life and introspection. These easy-going creatures help us see life not as a struggle, but rather as a beautiful place that we can all enjoy.
They take their time and enjoy small things in life which makes them less stressed about things that are not important. If we all took a bit of this behavior and applied it to our world, we would probably be much happier.
