My Australian Shepherd, Dixie, was an amazing gal. She dropped into my lap in a rather simple fashion and we ended up spending almost 14 years together. Saying good bye to her in May was sad, but it could not have been clearer when she was ready to leave. Living from a space of gratitude has allowed me to really feel the layers of life and I continue to be in awe of all there is to be grateful for in regards to Dixie and what she taught me and brought to my world. We did obedience classes, then agility classes, and eventually competed in agility. We met with good friends, both 2-legged and 4-legged, at the dog park and hiked regularly with some of those same friends. We played ball. We took walks in the field with our cat. We knew our own rhythms and how those individual rhythms wove together into team rhythms. We were sisters at heart and she led the way and supported me in my journeys into the energy work I do today.
Lately, I am extremely grateful for Dixie helping me to know how important it is just to be when you are getting to know someone new. Lilly, a 2 year old Border Collie, dropped into my life in an extremely synchronous fashion about 2 months ago. I got rather sick in the first week after she arrived and we spent a couple of days lying in bed just resting. She’d been under some stress before joining me and she needed just to sleep as much or more than I needed to sleep with my fever. Since then we’ve taken long walks, played ball on land and in water, gone to meet 2-leggeds and 4-leggeds to hike and swim together, and learned how to learn. But the down time when we both just sit or lie next to each other is at the core of the two of us figuring out our rhythms and how they can fit together. One thing Lilly is clearly here to teach or remind me is that stepping (or falling as it often feels like) into that space of trust can allow things to happen at lightning speed. I know that any imaginings I have of our future together are nowhere near as awesome as they will be.
The companions of other species, whether we choose them or they choose us, completely enrich our lives. Just the other day I said to a friend that anyone who needs to smile or laugh, should just get a cat or a dog, or at least find one to hang out with. The joy and love that they bring to the world is immeasurable. I’m not sure I could find an end to a list of gratitudes for my companion animals, so I make sure to say my thanks with regularity to my pals whether they are still by my side or are now in my heart.