Solstice

Now the soft hour

Of walking comes; for him who lonely loves

To seek the distant hills, and there converse

With Nature, there to harmonize his heart,

And in pathetic Song to breathe around

The harmony to others.

-   Thomson, Seasons. Summer. L. 1,378.

I've been sitting here on my deck in the evening air, enjoying a break from the day's heat and listening to the birds give their last hurrah before sleep. This time of the day, when the air cools down and the animal and insect world gets suddenly active in the few hours before dark, is full of magic and energy. I can't help thinking about my cat Haley, and how much she loved being out on this deck in the evening. Haley was an indoor cat, necessitated by her having been de-clawed by her first human companion, and it wasn't until I moved to this place with its relatively safe and contained deck that she got a taste of the great outdoors. It may sound funny to say a cat could look blissful, but truly there is no other word for her expression while soaking up the sun or moonlight and watching the world float by. I felt so guilty bringing her in so I could go to sleep!

I'm thinking about Haley a lot these days, she died this past January of bone cancer, and thinking also of all the other animal and human departures that have influenced my little world so far this year. There have been a particularly high number of dear animal friends deciding it was time to cross over, and this has led me to more than the usual amount of pondering on the uncertainty of life and death, and how we live the one and transition to the other. In every animal I've known who has made this journey, and most personally in my cat, I witnessed amazing grace, love, and strength. I have learned so much from them all that I now feel able to find tremendous gifts both in their lives and in their presence in the other world. After the sadness dissipates a bit, there is as much to be learned from how one leaves this life, as there is in how one lives in it.

So, a few future posts here will be about transitions and the things I've learned from those animals and people whose passage to the next world I've been honored to witness. Death is something we don't really like to talk about, but it is part of living, and in the case of our pets, we make a choice to love and live with a being who is in all likelihood not going to be here as long as we are. What an a amazingly beautiful commitment that is to make, what a gift to share that small life for a short while, and how hard when reality comes. Unfortunately, all that not-talking-about-it leaves us ill-equipped to cope when we face the death of a loved one, or even, ultimately ourselves.

Now that I've gone and started on this topic, I'll leave it tonight with some things that have brought me comfort in these last few months of saying goodbye to so many. Each life is precious, and each matters hugely to someone, or something, somewhere. In our tiny little lives it's easy to get lost in the loss, and forget the wonder of being here at all. So tonight, as you go to sleep, take a little minute to be thankful for the wonder, for each of those stars that has shone in your life, and know, without a doubt, that they are with you always.

Together

Like most everyone else, I've been horrified by the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf. This is a catastrophe on many levels, but the saddest visible effect has been the images of oil overtaking the region's fragile ecosystem. As humans, we alone among all species on the planet have the power to create, and we use that gift to do amazing things. Sometimes, however, we get so busy creating we forget to slow down and consider the power of what we do. Obviously the human impact of this crisis is immense, and I don't want to discount that in any way. But, part of the human impact IS the impact this and other environmental accidents have on the animal and plant kingdoms. We are all tied tenuously together on this rather small planet, and perhaps our greatest responsibility as the "most advanced" species is to be careful stewards of those who depend on us.

We often get fooled into thinking that we have power over the plants and animals and therefore can do whatever we wish, since obviously we know better than they do. What we forget is that even the smallest life thinks and feels, and has a contribution to make. Look at the honey bee, which is facing drastic population decline and potential extinction. Without bees, a critical link in our food chain, our entire ecosystem even, disappears. We can also bring mindful stewardship to our own homes in how we care for our pets. When we consider their perspective, consider their quality of life, our bond with them increases and both of our lives improve. Anyone with a frustrated or lonely dog who is busily destroying their house knows well the dangers of an unhappy dog trying to express itself or "self comfort"! When we choose to bring animals into our human families, we do need to consider their feelings, and their needs. Dogs and cats are not people. They do not have the same perspective on things that humans do, and it's important to take the time to understand how your pet thinks so that you can help it to cope with our busy human world. There are many great books on this now, and people like Cesar Millan are slowly bringing this concept more into the mainstream. Still, there is lingering resistance to the idea that our animals think or feel at all. I find this remarkable since most any pet owner will tell you how clever their pet is, and the amazing way the animal seems to know what their owner is thinking, or vice versa. Still, animals having thoughts and feelings gets us into a realm many people are vaguely uncomfortable with. When a new client comes to me to help them communicate with their animal and expresses doubts or feelings of "I want to believe in this, but I can't til I see it happen", I let them know that it is totally okay and reasonable to question everything - actively communicating with our pets is not, at this point in time, something most of us do consciously everyday. Part of the goal of a session is for the pet's human and I to work together to build trust between us so that we can both be open to what the animal is telling us.

My hope in helping people to build a stronger bond with their animals, and thereby the planet around them, is that we stay open minded to possibility and consider the full impact of each choice we make. It does make a difference, one small step at a time.