Animals Know What We Need – Positive Mirroring: Teaser from My Animal My Self: A Breakthrough Way to Understand How You and Your Animal Reflect Each Other by Marta Williams
Because they are always tuned in to us, our animals are keenly aware of what we need, and if they can help us, they will. When they do this to their detriment, we need to find some way to balance things out. But sometimes they help us in just the right way, with no adverse effect on themselves, which becomes a win-win situation. The following story is about one such animal who took it on herself to oversee her person’s recovery from illness.
Carol and Luna
Carol Upton is a Canadian freelance writer and publicist. The story Carol shared with me shows how attuned our animals are to us, how concerned they are for our welfare, and how competent they are at helping us.
On December 20, 2006, Carol was diagnosed with a rare form of head and neck cancer — adenoid cystic carcinoma, a malignant tumor, usually of the salivary gland, but in her case it had begun in the sinuses. The surgeon had removed enough of the tumor to biopsy and to allow Carol to breathe, but the prognosis was not very good. Carol was going to have to visit an oncologist and undergo extensive treatment at the British Columbia Cancer Agency once the holidays were over. After that consultation, Carol said she and her partner walked back out onto the street in a daze that actually protected them from knowing too much too soon. They had no idea to what extent their lives had just been hijacked.
Suddenly, she felt like she had no past and no real future. Her mind wouldn’t take her back to that nice safe place before the diagnosis, and it wouldn’t take her too far ahead, either, because there might not be anything much up that road. Surgery was possible, but it was extensive and mutilating with no curative guarantees, and she decided against it. The alternative was six weeks of high dose radiation and the hope of beating back the tumor. She made arrangements to leave her small hometown and live in Vancouver for the duration of daily treatment.
When she returned home, she was wearing a patch over one eye and could not see well enough to drive. She had lost weight, felt weak and tired, and the radiation burns to her face were painful. Her partner was working a great deal, and Carol was home alone for long periods of time. She had always found solace in nature, and she started seeing things in microcosm that she had not noticed before. Every flutter of a moth’s wings seemed extraordinary now. The birds landing outside the office window appeared to be looking directly into her eyes. Her husky-Lab cross, Luna, was radiant as she rested near Carol’s feet.
Carol and Luna
Every time Carol moved, Luna raised her head and searched Carol’s face to see what was up. During this time Carol cried a lot, despairing that she would not survive this ordeal. When her tears fell, Luna was there to rest her chin on Carol’s knee, gazing up steadily. Carol felt that Luna’s eyes promised her that she and Luna could get through the process together. Slowly, some of Luna’s shining confidence seeped into Carol’s bones, and recovery seemed like a possibility.
Even though Carol’s partner was walking Luna every day, Luna began poking Carol with her nose and herding her toward the door to get her moving. She and Luna began to take short walks down the street together, even though Carol couldn’t see very well and felt unsteady on her feet.
Previously, during walks, Luna had always galloped far ahead, but now she stayed close, looking back over her shoulder to be sure that Carol was still with her and waiting for Carol to catch up if she fell behind. Carol said she knew that all animals had an amazing ability to heal, but she had never experienced it the way she did with Luna. In the world of animals, illness, injury, and even death are simply things that happen, and no other meaning is attached. She now understood that Luna saw her as an injured pack member who just had to get on her feet again; that wouldn’t happen if Luna let Carol sit around. Like a typical human, Carol said she was thinking too much. Luna sent her a clear message that she needed to heal both body and spirit. Luna was determined to assist in every way she could, leading her down the street step-by-step so that she could grow strong again and comforting her when she needed to rest.
Carol says that today, she feels much more confident. Long, rambling walks with Luna and her newest rescue, Lucy, are the highlight of her day. To Carol’s mind, her pack mate pulled her out of a dark and critical state; Carol says she wouldn’t be where she is now without Luna’s loving assistance.
~Marta Williams is a biologist, author and animal communicator who lives in Northern California. She teaches worldwide and via teleclass, and offers consultations for animals and their people by phone, Skype and email. My Animal My Self is Marta’s fourth book published by New World Library. Visit her at www.martawilliams.com
Tags: Animal communicator, book review, healing with dogs, Marta Williams, My Animal My Self
