Skepticism - Is it a Path to Spaciousness

Since the onset of COVID-19, my dog Finnegan faced a bit of a skin ailment right near his left eye these past few months. I wasn’t sure what caused it, but it suddenly appeared the following day after a blissful moment rolling on newly cut grass walking as we were exploring our neighborhood in March right before the lockdown. A spot got punctured into a little pimple, and as I watched it grow and get angry, I began to worry about the ramifications if I didn’t address the cause. With COVID-19, I was limited to sitting in the parking lot while Finnegan was seen by the veterinarian inside. I talked to several animal doctors, all of whom suggested that Finn gets surgery on his right eye and left. I was open to suggestions, but when I heard that there is no guarantee it wouldn’t return, I had to step back whether surgery was the right course of action. When we lived in Columbus, we were fortunate to have a veterinarian who also practiced holistic medicine, so it was common for Finn to get acupuncture treatments. I’ll save this for another post another day.

I learned more than what I had ever imagined. I learned that we could heal with only one remedy. This journey was to uncover layers of resistance to patience, observation, pausing, giving love, waiting, and waiting and waiting. That angry wound that was bleeding and swelling in pain is gone and has new growth of hair. The skeptic in me was the resistant one. Letting go of fear and worry, I opened myself to learning something new, Homeopathy. It happened one day, when someone said, “what happened to his eye?” many times walking in the neighborhood! One when it was a red pimple; the second time was when the cyst was in its stages of oozing and anger, so big that it almost covered his eye, the third when the cyst was shrinking, and the fourth was when it was finally gone. The neighbors couldn't believe it; even a retired veterinarian surgeon couldn’t believe what he saw.

Homeopathy is being in a meditative state. Things show up, and I learned to let go of reacting and seeking results. Allowing the space to be. The body is incredible. Trust the system to heal itself. Dogs know more than we think.

The discovery of finding the remedy that healed Finn’s eye blows my mind.

I hope this inspires you to explore homeopathy to take care of your furry companions. Much love xo

The joyful golden doggo can stack

People always ask me how did I raise such a beautiful happy dog named Finnegan. "He is this, and he is that. What did you do?"

Well, whatever the encounter was, it sure made an impact on me to be a dog momma. All I can recall is one evening looking out the window. We had just purchased our first iPhones and not long before that, we got a sexy Sony flatscreen TV. At 5'2", I found myself weighing 122 pounds, unhappy and feeling very unattractive in my relationship. Every single night I grew to dislike sitting in front of the TV eating dinner and Ben and Jerry's ice cream; falling asleep on the couch only having to wake up in the middle of the night to get in bed. This happened frequently, and I grew weary and deeply concerned about the long term impact of what I was doing to this vessel I claimed as my body. A thought bubble appears, and I said to myself, I didn't get in a relationship to sit on my expanding butt, watching people live their lives vicariously in the screen. So that one evening, in that state of disgust and yearning, I looked out the window and witnessed our street full of people walking their dogs. One, in particular, caught my eye, a big labrador/Newfie mix, a happy looking dog with white feet which later we learned to be named "Brian." His eyes looked bright, fresh, and smiled with swagger and his people walked side by side holding hands. Next thing I did was researching breeds and temperaments of different kinds of dogs. I remember loving a miniature Schnauzer, but that was short-lived. I spoke with breeders and volunteered at shelters to walk dogs to get the vibes of different kinds of dogs. Without effort and hassle, when I encountered a golden retriever male that was the last left of his litter, it didn't take much for me to convince myself to reach out my hands to hold and embrace him. I knew instantly what my role would be for him; I would take great care of him. The rest is history.

Relationships are not just with people. It is also with dogs, cats, whatever animal or living being who is under your care. It is also with money, it is also with our company, our state, our city, whatever we encounter in our lives. From what I see in the world we live in, there is no moral distinction of who is better and deserves better care. We have a role and have an impact. How do we want to make it happen? We can make our lives more difficult full of limitations by thinking, viewing, feeling, and seeing a certain way. Yes, life happens. Stuff happens. It can wreck our lives, but at the end of the day, we can choose to get up and move on and grow. It takes practice and study and desire. Going back to the dog, and how Finnegan got to be who he is, it is him. Just like any other being, he lives and moves forward through walking; smelling the world around him as he migrates marking his spots to remember his way home and learn about his world. As a dog momma, it is my commitment to give him the quality of life. Dogs have to be leashed, they are fenced, locked up as pets to provide love to their people. I feel that is not enough. When I decided to adopt a dog, I wasn't just going to leave him as my property. As far as I know in my experience, he spreads joy. I learned a lot from his company and energy. I always will be forever looking up for my Papa, who showed me how to love animals and cultivate trust and relationship with them. I will also be forever quiet and gratified for my American grandpa who talked about the quality of life and how what we do with our body has a cost in life. I realize my thoughts are extreme in this "pet" world and that I may be viewed as crazy, but I am not going to care what others may think. We live in a free society, or better yet, I strive that way of living. We create our life and expression. I am jazzed to see that there are more doggie mommas and pops out there who are going against the grain, giving their pups more than just a pet life. I don't feel so alone and weird.

This is the energy and vibe I put out when I work. I want to work with individuals whose values align with mine, and my values align with theirs. I want to be embraced for my uniqueness, passion, and love of music.

Vibing with this groove as I finish this post and in the words of my love language, Japan: “Konichiwa” by Danny Benét who is opening for one of my fave bands from Los Angeles this Friday, August 5, 2019, at The Independent in San Francisco. Music is love. Come out and play.