Keeping ourselves open
I hesitate to share this with you because I like to keep our weekly chats upbeat. But as we always say… show up as you are. In the spirit of authenticity, I’m going to try to do just that.
We recently lost our beloved dog Zuri. Thirteen years of a full life should be a cause for celebration, but I just feel sad.
My instinct is to pull away from the pain, busying myself with the details of life, but a slow throb in my temples serves as a reminder of the deep sense of loss I feel.
I think to myself, maybe I can’t have another dog, this is too hard.
But then I’m reminded of all of the people we work with who are injured. Our consistent message to them is don’t avoid your emotions. In order to experience positive emotions, we have to open ourselves to the hard ones. Closing ourselves off eliminates the possibility of love. By keeping our hearts open despite fears associated with potential loss we allow our world to expand, and we are not left home alone in our pain.
Whether we’ve experienced the loss of an animal, a loved one, or a dream of something that that played out differently than we had hoped, together we will remember the importance of opening ourselves to hope and possibilities of new growth.
Warm thoughts,
Belinda Seagram, Ph.D., R. Psych.
Executive Director, Landing Strong
