Just as a child’s body grows when she is physically resting, we grow – and heal – emotionally when we are emotionally at rest. Our animals have much to teach us about the value of practicing both these forms of rest.
We are all so busy striving and achieving nowadays that we seem to have forgotten that what we need most to heal and to grow is REST. For emotional healing and growth this means emotional rest, and this can be best found within a safe and secure relationship. A relationship within which we don’t need to work or perform to know that we are loved, where we are loved for who we are, right now; where we can rest in the knowledge we can make mistakes, not be the best, share those icky feelings – and that relationship will still be there. Animals seem to ‘get’ this better than we do. Fortunately they willingly share this rest with us – and it may be that it is through our relationships and time ‘at rest’ with animals that we are able to claim this rest back throughout all aspects of our life.
Absolutely! 100% agree with this. My daughter has grown up with and has such a strong connection with animals, she completely bonded with our first dog from when she was in vitro to age of 6, and is now connected to all four of our animals (two dogs/cats) and has a special bond with ‘her’ cat who follows her around and sleeps with her every night. When she is feeling restful, she is always with our animals, wherever she is in the house, at least one is always her; I hear and see her talking to them, reading to them, watching a program with them all curled up together, and at night her cat lays on her until she falls asleep and then she nuzzles into her, its adorable.
Animals are magical beings, know more about us at times that we don’t know ourselves with their emotional sixth sense, and know what we need! One of our cats is more bonded to me and at night comes and plonks herself on me as if to say ‘mum, you need me to rest on you so you can rest’ and it totally works as I become sofa-queen with my huge fluffy cat, and she calms me no end, until she needles my knees making biscuits, and wafts her tail in my face – why do I always get her butt in my face, can’t she nuzzle my neck like horses sometimes do? As I type this, I look up from my screen, and I have Eddie at my feet, Sparkle at my side, Suki is on opposite sofa next to my girl and Sprinkle has just come into the room and any second will join my girl on the sofa too. We are all relaxing before it becomes dinner time.
Also, my late dog, Olive, I still feel her presence after four years. I was at a local beach a couple of weeks ago with my husband and girl, and I started to miss her, so I walked to the water on my own as I felt teary, and I could feel her with me, and then I just balled, adding to the already salty water crashing up to my boots. I kept trying to wipe and hide my tears, and my girl came and noticed, and said ‘are you missing Olive’….. I just nodded and she gave me the biggest hug, somehow she always knows when I am missing Olive, perhaps she felt Olive’s presence as well. A good cry for the soul was needed that day, allowing me to reset for the rest of the day ahead.