Since the pandemic began in 2020, my relationship with my dogs has changed in the most profound way.
One of my dogs I adopted in 2012 and the other dog I adopted in 2017. Their names are Asa (pronounced ah-saw) and Baby. I’ve always been very close to them and loved that kind of warm deep connectedness that you get from closeness with animals.
But since last year, my dogs have become a true family to me in terms of my mental, emotional and spiritual support.
>> My dogs remind me of my inner child. Spending time with them brings me back to my childhood. I had a dog as a child who was my closest companion and my first experience with complete acceptance and unconditional love. There’s something about pets and what they represent about the family unit and about stability (but without all the drama and dysfunction and lack of stability that many of us experienced as children).
>> I am my truest self with my dogs. Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of shadow work. I’ve been feeling a lot of the same neglect I felt in my childhood. By the time we reach adulthood, so many of us have had to reject or hide parts of ourselves. The innocence. The playfulness. The big emotions. The trusting self. My dogs bring me back to that person, they bring that out of me. They remind me to stop casting those parts of myself aside.
>> The animal bond reminds me of how interconnected we all are. I know everyone always jokes that they wish their dog could speak to them, but I am so grateful that I can’t communicate with my dogs using words. Why? It forces me to connect with them intuitively. It reminds me that communication is so much richer than just language, that we are connected to animals and nature on a cellular level way beyond what we hear and see and smell and taste and say.
What about you? Send me pictures of the animals who have supported you and loved you through the past year. DM me on IG to connect @interiorradiance
