Meeting This Moment Is an Art That Takes Work And Practice – And Makes An Incredible Difference!

I’ve been thinking a lot about how I can give my pets the best life possible. Moment to moment, day by day. And I reckon that truly, deeply meeting this moment is the most powerful way I can nourish my pets in every way – physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, energetically.

Life always brings challenges of one kind or another. Challenges are often uncomfortable. I used to withdraw in the face of this discomfort. Avoid it. Comfort eat. Drink alcohol. Anything to move away from or suppress the discomfort. And all of these things meant that there was less of me, less of my attention available for my beloved animals.

My pets used to be way, WAY more anxious, reactive, poorly behaved, and unwell on average than they are these days. I believe that the changes for the better I see in my animals are largely because of the changes I have made in myself, and in how well I care for myself.

Every bit of self-care you give yourself makes meeting this moment easier, more powerful, more beautiful. One thing I can’t stress enough is that the human’s self-care literally translates into positive impact and benefits for their animals. I see this again and again in my work as a holistic vet.

Meeting this moment is a practice, a muscle. Staying present in the face of challenges, uncomfortable feelings, and all the pressures of this life can be hard work. But the more you work at it, the easier it becomes, in my experience. That’s not to say that some days I have to sweat and work hard to get to where I want to be. Centered, grounded, present, open, and strongly present with everything that this moment is weaving into my life.

Meeting this moment – how Dr Ed maintains his practice!

I have a non-negotiable, powerful commitment to my self-care. I get up early 5 mornings a week and meditate, do resistance exercise, and practice Chi Gong. I eat well. I have bodywork/chiropractic/acupuncture sessions about every 2 weeks. I have fun – social time, creative time, time with my beloved. If something blows up that is beyond my capacity to deal with on my own, I seek professional support – counseling, therapy, etc. I have a men’s group that I attend every 2 weeks.

I make time to nurture my relationships – with my beloved, and with all my animals. I make sure that I play with my dogs, the cat, and horses. I make time to make music and create art. I make sure I structure my time so I can get all the things I need to get done in my business and work completed in a way that serves me.

I make sure that I have time every day for connected, loving touch with my animals. My life work, the Whole Energy Body Balance™ method, is at the heart fo how I support, care for, and connect with my animals. Loving touch is bonding, healing, releases pain and tension from the body, mind, and spirit, and above all deepens relationship. (If you want to learn this, let me know.)

And some days I wake up heavy, sad, angry. Right now I’m struggling with my horse’s diagnosis of ECVM. Unfixable. Terminal. So I give myself some space to feel and honour my grief and anger. But then I will consciously generate gratitude and joy until they get bigger than the uncomfortable, challenging feelings.

Because if I collapse and allow the uncomfortable feelings to dominate my life, then I won’t be meeting this moment in a healthy, constructive way. I’ll be flopping about, ineffective, and not at all present for my animals in the way they need me to be. The way I live life is continual hard work. But it brings such beautiful, rich rewards. The more I care for myself, the more I am willing to meet and accept all the joys and challenges this life provides to me, the happier I become.

And the more my beautiful animals benefit. I can see such a huge shift in the happiness and well-being of my animals over the past 25 years. Gem, our newest dog, is the happiest, most relaxed, loving dog I’ve ever lived with. But if I didn’t care for myself like I do, she could not be. It’s that simple!

Here’s a video where I talk about this topic live…

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Want to work with Dr Ed to bring healing into your pet’s life, or into your life? Learn more at www.thehealingvet.com

My beautiful horse…