Trust

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about the struggle I was having . . . feeling like I had hit a dead end when it came to treatment options for Lucky's tumors.  I mentioned that I wanted to believe that if there was another option, it would come to me without me having to work so hard to find it. I also mentioned that while that was my belief, I still had trouble being patient enough for those answers to come. 

Within a week of writing that post, two of my clients, who I also consider friends (and earthbound angels) approached me with ideas on things I could try that I hadn't tried yet.  It was as if the dark cloud hanging over me had receded and I felt hopeful again.   We knew there was no guarantee that any of these options would help, but we also knew there was no harm in trying.  And I always feel better when I am doing SOMETHING so I felt inspired to have something new to try.

The first option was essential oils.  I currently use essential oils on Lucky to deal with pain, and I have used flower essences to help with her anxiety in years past, but I didn't know essential oils could be used to address tumors.   There were many different recommendations on which oils could be used and my friend brought over all the ones she had so I could figure out which ones would be best for Lucky.  I read everything I could about using essential oils on animals, so that I could be sure I didn't make any mistakes. Animals are more sensitive to oils than humans are, so you have to be much more careful about how much you use, how much you dilute them, etc.    I read information about how animals KNOW what is best for them.  The recommendation was that you open the bottles one at a time and wave them near the animal so they can smell it.  Then based on their reaction, you will know if the animal thinks it would be appropriate or not, i.e. if they continue to sniff and seem interested, that is a good sign.  If they turn their head away or get up and move away, it's not an oil they want you to use on them.  

It made perfect sense to me, so I opened each of the bottles and let Lucky get a whiff.  She "picked" three . . .  frankincense, myrrh and lavender.  It felt good to know we were working together to figure this out.  I mixed up the appropriately diluted amounts of each and began by putting one drop of each on her tumor, 2 times a day.  They recommend three days on and three days off . . . and today is our 3rd day off . . . so we'll start again tomorrow for another three days.  Lucky doesn't mind at all when I rub the drop of oil on her tumor, so that tells me she is comfortable with what we are doing.   It's too soon to tell if it is going to work but for the moment, it feels like the right thing to do.   

A few days after I had started the essential oils, my other friend came by with seven different supplements that could be possible treatment options for Lucky.  At first I was overwhelmed looking at all the different bottles because I wasn't getting a strong intuitive hit on which ones would be best for Lucky.  Then I remembered how we had selected the essential oils and decided to let Lucky make the selection again.  I put all the bottles down on the floor next to her.  I explained that I wanted her to help me figure out which ones would help her.  I reminded her that it was OK if she didn't want/need any of them but asked her if she could let me know if she did want to start using any of them.  She sniffed each of the bottles, then very clearly, she picked out two. She picked them out by pawing at them with her front paw and then trying to pick them up with her teeth.   Just to be sure, I picked them all up, then put the two she had picked, plus two she hadn't picked back down on the floor in front of her and she picked the same two again, by pawing at them and trying to grab them with her mouth.  

So, I started giving Lucky those pills as well.  I did muscle testing to figure out the right dose (which ended up being 1 of each, 2 times a day).   Again, it's too soon to tell if they are going to help make the tumor go away but I feel good knowing that I am giving Lucky things that she helped select herself.  It feels good to not have sole responsibility for trying to figure out what to do and to know I can partner with Lucky to figure these things out.  It also feels good to know that I have the support of these two wonderful ladies. 

And I keep thinking about the belief that I say I have (which unfortunately, I don't always honor), that the answers WILL come to us, without us having to work so hard.  I got proof this past week that it's safe to hold that belief and hopefully, it will help me remember to trust it more often.  I was out of options and didn't know where else to turn . . . and then out of the blue, these two earthbound angels contacted me with suggestions on things I could try, things I had not come across in my own research.  If it hadn't been for them, I would still be at a loss as to what else to try and would be feeling helpless.

In my "lessons learned" category this week, I have three very important learnings . . . that the answers WILL come if we're patient and opened, that I am not alone and don't have to figure all of this out myself and finally, that Lucky can help me determine what she needs if I am willing to listen to her.  I'd say it was a pretty productive week from that standpoint.