Being of Service to your pets is an amazing gift. But what about times when you struggle?
I’m moving house in less than a week. We’ve been packing everything up for weeks. I can hardly walk into my shed. The house is full of boxes. I can’t find anything that I need. I had a virus the week before last, and I’m still recovering from that. I’m saying goodbye to my home of more than 6 years, friends, clients, and familiar places and patterns. This is a struggle for me right now – and I still need to be in service to and for my lovely pets.
I’m tired, and scattered, have had neck and back pain, and I’m not nearly as present as I’d like to be (or as I normally am). And I HAVE to show up. Because my pets depend on me. They need my attention feeding, caring, connecting, touching, and maintaining our relationship. Making them feel like I’m seeing what they need, and caring for them. Of course, I want to do this, because I love them.
The most important key for me is really digging into my self-care. I’ve been asking my beloved for more support. I’ve been allowing myself to feel the sadness, the fear, the uncertainty. I’ve also been actively building excitement about where we are going to – because it’s a lovely property, with more space, so much potential, and an incredible community. In many ways, what I’ve been dreaming of for years. That’s the carrot!
Your service gives back as much (and more) as you give out – and any challenge can be healthy when you are ‘fighting the good fight’!
My pets always give back so much more when I am giving. They know when I’m not feeling so good, and they all come and check-in, spend extra time with me, sit all over my hands when I’m trying to type, video bomb important calls, and more than anything else, make me smile. This is partly because I’ve built up social capital with them over a long time.
Consistent kindness, care, and presence. It builds up a bank that then pays out dividends when you are in the middle of a challenge, and still showing up to be in service all the same.
You also have to build up self-care capital. That means ALWAYS doing your self-care – physical, mental, emotional, energetic/spiritual – especially when you are feeling great and everything is going really well. There can be a tendency to let that slip sometimes when it’s all good fun- on holidays, after too much fun and partying, etc.
The other time many people let their self-care slip is when things get tough. I was up this morning at 6 a.m. I did my hour of meditative/energetic practices, my resistance training, and my chi gong. I’m making sure to drink plenty of water and eat well. And now, at the most challenging part of the moving journey, I’m showing up for my pets, my beloved, my clients, my business, and the world. Though not necessarily in that order – the order of priorities changes during the day.
If you’d like to read more blog articles like this, you can click through to our #1 + #2 + #3 + #4 + #5 + #6 + #7 + #8 + #9 + #10 editions of How To Help Your Pets with Dr. Ed, The Healing Vet
And here’s where you can click through to watch this week’s video where I talk live about these themes from a bit of a different angle.
If you want an online or in-person consultation with me, go to www.thehealingvet.com and book a free discovery call with me!
Pic of my lovely dog, Mitzi
