Recently, we needed to put our much-loved cat down.
Having had this experience has given Carol and myself a deep awareness of what many of you may go through when losing a beloved pet. As we can now relate to the aching void this brings, I felt the need to explore resources that address various states of the human experience. I found something called The Gift of Love, which was based on a poem by Dr. Jerry DeShazo.
In essence, the poem looks to bring our mind’s attention to a person or a pet that we love very much. It encourages us to acknowledge that love through and through our whole being, until it fills us to overflowing out into the world. It cites the power of connecting deeply to who or what is present in your life.
As I listened to the words, it brought to mind the memory of the various experiences I shared with our cat, named Katniss. As I let my mind bring up those moments, I remembered using the brush to groom her hair at night. I remember how I would just show the brush to her, and she would come running to receive the strokes of love I so loved giving her.
Granted, there is a tendency to focus on the void of not having her here in form right now. However, I am seeing how, as I give my heart’s attention to the experiences I had with her, it helps to fill that void.
I remember how on a sunny day she would go outside and basically plop down on the asphalt, lying on her back and rolling back and forth. Our cat was also a welcoming one. When friends would come to our door, she would actually walk up to greet them. That was a sight Carol and myself very much cherished. We loved how she would hear us talking and be drawn to be with us, and how she would come close to us while we were watching TV.
As these experiences fill my heart, I am filled with a sense of gratitude to have had Katniss in our midst. And as I process the loss of her in form, I realize that to acknowledge the love shared allows for the filling of the void with the overflowing of love that we shared.
Maybe you have had a similar process of allowing grief from a loss to transmute into the acknowledgment of love. I find that as I look to keep oriented toward that gratitude, it naturally keeps the focus on the connection we shared.
As I write of this experience, my hope is that it helps you as much as it has been helpful to me.
For Our Greater Health,
Dr. Steve
