The title of my blog this week is "Animals DO get mad" and they do . . . and for some people that doesn't seem to gel with the idea that animals love us unconditionally, that they are just happy all the time, happy to be with us, thrilled when we walk in the door (ok, maybe that isn't what everyone believes about cats) :-) but it's difficult sometimes to embrace the idea that if our animals feel, then they have the capacity to feel all the things we feel, and that includes being irritated or mad at times.
I think the difference with animals is that they seem to get over it more quickly, forgive more quickly. They don't hold grudges. They can be mad one moment and then be finished with the feeling. Often times all it takes is for someone to acknowledge their feelings or explain something to them and then they feel content again. I think that is why they are generally peaceful and happy. They may be irritated from time to time or get their feelings hurt, but they don't stay stuck there, as far as I can tell.
But still, sometimes it's hard for us to believe that they get upset, especially if they are upset with us. Years ago when I was in the presence of another animal communicator, I was talking to her about my beliefs about animals and I said something about some breeds of dogs being smarter than other breeds. She stopped and said, "Lucky is upset with you for saying that" and I was thinking "What? Lucky's mad at me? How is that possible, with all the nice things I do for her. :-) It wasn't like I said German Shepherds are dumb."
The communicator told me that Lucky believed all animals are equally intelligent and that the only difference is in how they are treated. If they are treated like they are smart and will catch on quickly to things, then they usually do. If they are treated like they are dumb, they don't bother to let their intelligence shine through. She said Lucky was upset that I didn't realize that all animals were equally intelligent.
I am happy to say I have learned a lot about animals since then and have since grown to share Lucky's belief. I'm embarrassed that I used to misunderstand animals that way. I don't even know where I learned that. I'm just happy that I got "re-educated" even if it was with a bit of a sting at the time. It took me a few days to wrap my mind around the idea that Lucky could be mad at me but once I understood that, it seemed to shift our whole relationship onto a new level. I saw her in a different light and was much more conscious of the things I said and how she reacted. It changed the way I looked at ALL animals and helped me understand the magnitude of what they were capable of.
I continue to see evidence of other animals being upset and it still makes me smile, because it is a reminder of their emotional capacity and how much richer our relationships with animals can be when we more fully embrace the depth of their emotional experience.
Just today, I was giving a dog a Reiki treatment and I asked her guardian about her birthday last weekend. I knew some friends of hers were throwing a party for her at a park, so I asked how the party was. Just then I could feel irritation from her dog. When I tuned in, what I got from the dog was that she was mad that she hadn't been able to go to the party. In her mind, since the party was at a park, she should have been able to go. When I told her guardian what I was picking up, she smiled and nodding in a "knowing" sort of way, letting me know she wasn't entirely surprised to hear her dog was upset. She explained that this particular park didn't allow dogs. At first I felt resistance from her dog and could sense she didn't believe her guardian because she believed dogs were allowed at all parks as long as they were on leash and well behaved. Her guardian explained to her that this particular park didn't allow dogs because there were a lot of deer at the park and other wildlife . . . and I immediately felt contentment run through her dog's body. She heard it, she understood it and she was no longer mad about being left at home when her mom went to the park for her party.
Sometimes animals get irritated because there is a change in the home and no one bothered to give them a heads up about it. It could be the arrival of a new animal, the departure of a family member, or where their bed got moved. Animals just want us to explain things to them. Once we do, they are content again.
I have worked with many animals who were having "behavioral problems" that started once a new animal was brought into the household. Usually, all it takes is for their guardian and I to acknowledge their feelings and explain how things are going to be different or the same now that the new animal is there, and miraculously the "behavior problems" go away. As I said, they can "get over things" quickly once someone acknowledges their feelings and helps them understand what is going on.
Our animals also get mad at us sometimes or feel let down if we aren't taking care of ourselves or we're letting other people hurt us. They don't stay mad, but they certainly have feelings about it. I had one client whose cat was sick and I was giving her frequent Reiki treatments. One particular day, I could feel anger coming from the cat, which I had never picked up before. I asked her guardian what had been going on around the house, and at first, he wasn't offering up much. The sense I got was that someone was being taken advantage of but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Finally, her "dad" told me that his girlfriend hadn't been treating him very lately but that he wasn't doing anything about it. Finally, the pieces fell into place and I explained that his cat was upset that he wasn't standing up for himself and that she would be much happier if he didn't let this gal walk all over him anymore. His reaction was a mixture of gratitude, amusement and disbelief. Months later, after the girlfriend had moved out, he confessed to me that he was still stunned (and very touched) that his cat cared that much about how he was being treated.
This leads to another interesting thing about the work I do. I am usually contacted initially to help an animal, but the majority of the time, the guardian ends up getting help as well. I probably coach the humans as much as I communicate with the animals. I find that I partner with the guardians to help the animals, and I partner with the animals to help the guardians . . . and it makes the work I do even more gratifying.
If you aren't already embracing the depth of your animal's emotional capacity, I hope you will begin to move in that direction. There is so much we can learn from animals if we're willing to "listen" to them, observe them and give them credit for all they have to offer us.
And now, an update on Lucky, since so many of you are checking in weekly to find out how she is doing. (We really appreciate all the kindness and support during this more difficult part of the journey).
Honestly, it was a pretty rough week. Lucky's front legs started to give her some problems and often times she could only take 1-2 steps at a time before she was unable to move any further. It made it very challenging for us to get around, as we both depend on her front end to be strong, so that I can focus on holding up her back end. I had no idea why her front end was so weak all of the sudden. There were so many possibilities . . . she could have pulled a muscle or tweaked something, or it could have been because I ran out of her joint support medicine and tried a different brand, or it could be that her front half is just giving out because it's been doing so much of the work for so long. Without any way to know for sure what the cause was, I felt pretty helpless. She has been getting daily massages, daily Reiki treatments and ice packs on her shoulders but things weren't improving. I got her old joint support medicine and started her on it again yesterday. Too soon to tell if that was the culprit. At this point, I just have to wait and see if she improves. It's one thing I am getting better at . . . patience.
On top of the mobility issues, Lucky started throwing up on Wednesday and it continued through Thursday. She threw up everything, including water. Again, no way to know for sure what the cause was . . . the cancer? the heat? the change in medicine? Thankfully, the last two days have been barf-free so I'm leaning towards "the heat" as the cause, although one never knows for sure.
Then, her yeast infection started to get worse, so it was obvious that what I was doing to treat it wasn't working. I hit that place again where I feel stuck between my two options "do more research and find another treatment option" or "accept what is." I have never been very good at the latter but I know I have to accept the fact that a lot of what is going on with Lucky right now may be a sign that her body is giving out. She was so tired this week, she was falling asleep while drinking water. I put the bowl down, she started to drink and I walked out of the room for less than two minutes and when I came back into the room, she was sound asleep with her head in the bowl. She was beat and I knew it and yet, I still was unsure if it was temporary (fix it) or permanent (accept it).I was talking to a friend of mine about all of this and I told her that I had always believed that if something was "right" it would be easy . . . so if there was another treatment options, I would find it easily and if I didn't, maybe it was a sign that I needed to move to "acceptance."
She offered to research some natural treatment options for yeast infections, because she knew I felt like I had hit the wall. Being the jewel that she is, within 24 hours, she had emailed me with all sorts of options I hadn't come across in my own research. It's amazing what a fresh pair of eyes can see. I scanned the list and one jumped out at me - coconut oil. Of all the things on the list, it was something I already had in my house. To me, that fit the definition of "easy" so that's what we're going to try now. After a comedy of errors, I rubbed some coconut oil on her tummy and thighs today. The coconut oil that I have is in capsules, so I poked a hole in it, with an earring, because I couldn't find a pin, and then I apparently forgot where the hole was because when I pinched the capsule, the coconut oil sprayed out in the opposite direction from where I expected it to (so I have more of it on my legs than Lucky does) and rubbing oil onto a very furry dog is no easy task either.
But I will do it again tomorrow (hopefully better, I promised Lucky I would improve the process) . . . and in a few days, I'll know whether or not it is going to help. It feels good to be doing SOMETHING - I am always happier when I am doing something, instead of feeling helpless to make things better. Lucky is still eating, still drinking, still barking at me when she wants something that I haven't been able to "intuit" on my own, and aside from her falling asleep in the water bowl, and still being weak in the front end, she's doing alright. I suspect I'll know in a few days if the coconut oil and the old joint support supplement are going to make a difference. If they don't, then I'll have to take another look at "acceptance" but until then, I'm going to keep doing what I can to ensure she is as happy and as healthy as possible.
No comments:
Post a Comment