Animals as Teachers

I was out walking the dogs and marveling at their differences. Not physical, but who they are and what they teach me. Rascal and I headed out at a pretty quick pace and were quickly slowed down by Lucy coming to a near standstill. I believe we have a soul connection with our animals and as much as we are here to love and take care of them, they are here to assist us on our life’s path. Rascal is a happy go lucky, the world is my playground type of guy. On the surface, anyway, and when he is in his comfort zone - aka our yard. In the past, if I tried to take him for a walk and he would run around the house howling as I tried to get his leash on him. Then he’d howl and yip and yank and pull once outside. It was frustrating for me and I’m sure for him. I actually gave up trying to take him along. One day I was watching him look out the window and seeming to really enjoy watching the world go by, when it dawned on me. Rascal is my mirror! I am happy, relaxed, and a much different person in my comfort zone. Take me out of it though, and I can become full of anxiety. Once I recognized this, I began to work on myself (Reiki is a wonderful tool to use to recenter and reground yourself!) and in doing so, I was able to help Rascal. I let go of the expectation that we had to walk at a certain pace, or time, or distance (and Lucy was a great teacher there). When Rascal would start to get anxious and pull and yip, I would very casually ask him to return to me, focus on me, and start again. Sound familiar? Like grounding and centering? Without judgement? Remember my blog on Lucy teaching me to bloom where I’m planted? In today’s walk, Lucy was there again to remind both me and Rascal to bloom where we were planted - slow down, stop and smell the roses, enjoy the blue sky, sounds of summer or colors of fall, turn around when you’re tired, hot, or cold - even if it’s not the end of the road yet. Take a minute to think about your own animals, if you have them, and what they might be trying to teach you! Also take a minute to think about scheduling a Reiki session or learning Reiki as a tool to help you stay grounded and centered.

With love and light~

Debbie