GRATITUDE MONTH: DAY 4: “If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.” ― James Herriot
Yeah, I say walk up to just about any animal with a bit of something yummy and you will see them go berserk with joy; shaking their whole body and being so happy! Give something yummy to an addict and they just look at you and say “Is that it?”
I am way more able to connect with animals than people. Been that way all my life. And it is because I was so wounded for so many years. I just could not tolerate the games and the deceit and wondering whether I was being conned, controlled or manipulated by others for some reason.
We love animals for their sincerity and their honest responses to us and others. Dogs seldom meet anyone they will not greet, but they remain apart from those whose energy they are uncomfortable being around. Cats are the same. Most animals are; their authenticity is astonishing.
Sometimes it is much easier to work through the changes we make in recovery (or fail to make!), because the payoff is so great. Other times, it is not. I love the changes I have made in my life and the benefits I have sown from those changes.
The greatest of these is gratitude and the benefits of how I walk through the world today. It is such an uplifting and surprising way to live! And I can tell that my soul has grown, because it is way more a part of my daily existence than it ever was before. So, there is; of course, a direct connection between the two. And I am mindful, aware, and very, very grateful for that.
The actual changes are small to begin with. I remember writing that I was grateful for something that didn’t feel good, because I could tell it was there to test and challenge me to grow past a place in my heart that was unhappy and angry.
After some time, the feelings around that situation began to soften and reshape so that there was no more jabbing pain or fear around it and soon there was only acceptance. Yay! Now, that is a huge step for me, because I reject things that do not please me. It is a huge step to take toward acceptance of those things.
How that works, for me, is to begin to say thank you for those things. Then I can actually experience the softening and the acceptance begins to creep in. I don’t have to LOVE it, just accept it. And there is a healing that takes place in this process that is the same kind of healing we get from steps 4-9. Oh! Wow! And all because I sit with this icky thing and say thank you for coming to teach me what I need to learn this day.
Whether it is fear, pain, loss or something else, I can thank it and be grateful to and for it, and the healing has begun! When I try to deny it, push it down, ignore it; it must grow into a monster to get my attention…OR COME BACK ANOTHER DAY…either way, I am going to get walloped upside the head by this thing until I give it my full attention.
I prefer to recognize those initial stirrings of discomfort and thank them. Then I sit with them in meditation and ask them to teach me. And I continue to invite the icky thing to be with me until I have embraced and accepted that it is HERE NOW, because my intention to heal my life has called it.
This happened for me a few months ago; and I opened a door to a healing that is so big that I am astonished at what has come in the last few weeks! Crazy, but true. And I was embarrassed at its arrival initially. I thought I had healed all this dynamic in my life. Not true…here it is…and the gifts have been amazing!
Today I am more grateful, more aware, happier, freer, and the side effects have been 100% all the things I was being troubled with before. Oh! So, again, my focus on the “problems” in my life does not create solutions…so my focus on the solutions fits ALL my problems. I LOVE THIS SHIT! YAYAYAYAY!
Dolphin Hug 