In Honor of Sparty…
April 27, 2011 by Wishcrier
Filed under Blog, Personal Reflections
One of the things that death does for us is that it’s a reminder that nothing lives forever, that change is constant and that there’s no time like the present.
I am incredibly grateful for the life I have created for myself. One that allowed me in the last week of Sparty’s life, the flexibility and good fortune to be able to step away from my business and just spend time with him saying goodbye.
Sparty and I spent his last days simply being present to each other. I did a lot of journaling sitting on the floor by his side while he slept, opening up to what wanted to be expressed, both from my perspective and from his.
It gave both of us the time and space needed to cut cords and make peace with the transition that was about to take place.
But what we mostly did together was breathe. It’s the one thing we can all share. Sparty and I did a lot of breathing together in his last days and it helped to shift the emotions from constriction to expansion.
Fritz Perls, the noted German-born psychiatrist, said that fear is excitement without the breath. So, as you begin to step into the power of your own value and the fear starts to override your courage – remember to breathe. Deeply, passionately and lush-ly! And remember what the Boys said…
Expect good things!
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aw Shannon, What a beautiful story for the wonderful Sparty. Beautiful way to look at loss, difficult as that is for us humans to handle. We are just so lucky to have a life that allowed us that time to spend towards the end with them. I really liked your perception of letting go, although I still just feel so sad that they’re little furry bodies aren’t here with me.
My Buddhist friends say that our grief is about attachment. If we let go of that we allow them and us to find peace. They can move beyond their body, we can move into another phase of our life.
I also feel such huge gratitude having my kittens for 20 whole years with the ability to work at home to care for them towards the end. While I sometimes felt it would be so much easier to work for someone else, I’d never have given up that time with my Koko sitting atop my computer cabinet ‘supervising’ me, or Smokey coming around for afternoon tummy rubs. Does life even get any better?
I remember our walk with Sparty and his pal and I imagine them running through the clouds together now that they’re together again. I’m glad I got to meet your darling dog and you my amazing cats. We’ll always be connected with the power of our love for them.