Have you ever decided that your animal doesn’t like something, a person or a situation, and you just know that when that person or situation arises things will not go well?  Just as words have power, thoughts and expectations have energies.  Have you ever asked yourself whether you are feeding that story with the energy embedded in your own expectations? 

Horus has had it rough.  He’s a handsome tuxedo cat but he has issues.  His issues require daily doses of a medication that he simply detests.  This causes stress, both for him and for his human family.  But then would come the time for the occasional stay at the Puppy Resort while mom and dad would go away.  The combination of worrying about him spending time away from home and worrying about him being medicated by relative strangers became almost too much to bear. 

But was it really too much to bear for Horus?   Hmmm. 

We have all seen animals who have lost a limb.  When we see them, it takes us a moment to catch what we’re seeing, as the animal runs and plays like its four-legged friends. And then, we see the absence of something.  We see the place on the body where there should be a leg, and it’s gone.  We see loss.

Asia was a 3-year-old boxer mix.  She was small for her breed, about 40 pounds, lovable and somewhat goofy, as boxers are.  She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma.  It is extremely painful.  It wants to metastasize.  It destroys the bone, and the pain takes over the animal’s life. 

Surgery was recommended, as the diagnosis was early enough to prevent the spread of the disease.  And Asia lost her front left leg.

As we open our hearts in gratefulness for all the blessings that we have, we recognize that there are other sentient beings with whom we share beautiful Mother Earth who are less fortunate than we are.  Just as the fate and well-being of many human beings depend upon the grace and kindness of others, the wellness and survival of our animals increasingly depend upon our awareness, our concern, and our heart-centered connection with the extraordinary beauty and value in each one.

“He’s young.  He’s big.  He’s proud.  And he’s now competing in the same competitions that I compete in.  I used to be as young as he is.  And I was the king.  It doesn’t feel like I am the king any more.  And it makes me sad.”

Those who have the privilege and the joy to have horses in their lives are blessed beyond measure.  People who share their world with horses will tell you – all of them will tell you – that these magnificent animals have changed their lives.  They have absolutely changed mine.

It’s strange. People are fond of saying whether or not they are a “cat person.”  They don’t say whether or not they’re an elephant person or a dolphin person.  I never knew until I had my first extraordinary experience of Reiki with a very fearful cat.  Not just any cat.  But then again, no cat is just any cat.  

Any animal who experiences deep trauma can become fearful, anxious, even completely dysfunctional. Crystal was such a being.