My Sabbatical Dog. Blessed Am I.

Posted by Barbara Techel

IMG_1858 1200One thing I truly treasured about my sabbatical was more time spent one on one with Kylie. We took many walks on a path that is just a short distance from our house.  She soothed my broken heart by just being there in the silence, walking beside me, or trotting up ahead of me. It was in those moments of being with her, truly being with her, that I felt my heart begin to slowly mend.

Kylie has always had this quiet, amazing strength about her that I was witness to even more the past two months. I truly don’t know how to even say thank you to her for the comfort she provided me just by being who she is.  It was as if she felt my pain and in her own unique way stood by me in the only way a dog can do. She didn’t take away my sorrow, but gave me hope that my heart would heal and expand again.

Many days watching her scoot ahead on the path, soaking up all the smells  that leaves, trees and woods provide,  my spirit began to lighten. She was the sunshine on days my heart was clouded over with grief.

I saw a side of her I had never seen before. Her gentle, sweet presence was like a warm blanket of comfort that wrapped itself around me. She was my light. My comfort. My strength. My hope. My constant friend. My dear Kylie, full of a love that came bursting through and enveloped my heart with the kindest and most sweet compassion. Thank you, my friend, for being there for me.  My angel of unconditional love.

My Sabbitical Complete. I’m Happy to be Back.

Posted by Barbara Techel

view from my writing cottage window 1200

Dear Friends,

I am back.  My sabbatical complete in many ways. Thank you for your kind and compassionate patience as I took some time to clear my mind and refresh my soul.

When I decided to leave my blog and newsletter  in September, I felt quite empty. I felt like I had nothing more to give. Being someone who enjoys sharing, inspiring and encouraging others, I felt I just couldn’t offer any of those things with how I was feeling. At the same time, it was very hard to step back and trust that this was the right thing to do. It’s  important to me to be as positive as I can and share that with others, so when I felt I just couldn’t do that, I knew it was time to step away for awhile.

One big thing I’ve realized is how important sabbatical’s really are. Our Western society doesn’t seem to put enough value on them.  Though I had many moments of restlessness thinking I should just jump back in, I stayed the course. That in itself I am proud to have achieved.

I will share more about what I’ve learned through my sabbatical as I dive back into my daily blogging and bi weekly newsletter.  But I want to also acknowledge that there may be circumstances in others’ lives that two months like I did, is just not possible.  But I do believe we can find ways to carve out time, even small moments, in our everyday lives to simply just “be.” It is something that is no doubt a practice and one that I am going to try to practice more often.  Maybe not in two month increments, but broken down in smaller moments.

Journaling was something I did everyday as I went through grieving the loss of Joie, wondering about where I go from here, and thinking about what is important to me.  I’ve come back to the very same things I knew for certain when I left:

*I love writing and connecting with all of you, writing about dachshunds, dogs, animals, IVDD, and living a meaningful, joyful, and simple life.

*I will continue to be an advocate for dogs with disc disease (IVDD) and dogs in wheelchairs.

*I want to bring another special needs dachshund into my life.

I still consider myself in the exploring stage of anything other than this. But I continue to do work around that by gathering articles, information, etc. that speaks to me, as well as taking more time to read about avenues that interest me.

The above photo is of a new view from my desk in my writing cottage. During my sabbatical I did some rearranging and my desk now faces southeast which it never has before. A new perspective as I reflected (and continue to) about many things.

I’m happy to be back. It is my hope that with what I’ve learned for myself during sabbatical will serve to inspire and encourage you to do what you feel is best for you to live your best life.