I read something recently that really got me thinking. It’s about how “busy” is a sickness. Did you ever notice that is the stock answer so many of us give when asked how we are?
My intention for many years has been about living a life that is meaningful. To be busy feels like my life is out of control. While at times it does truly feel that way, I try to make a conscious effort to ground myself and look at why I might be feeling that way when I find myself in this place.
And I wish I had a dollar for every time someone asks my husband, John if he is busy. He owns and operates his own construction business. It’s funny though, because no one has asked me in a long, long time if I am busy. I find this fascinating.
In the article, a woman responds to a man who asked her how she is and she replies she was crazy busy. She was surprised when he asked her what it was she had going on that day. She frantically rattled off everything she had to do.
His response? “Sounds like a full day. Have fun!”
Whoa! What a seriously, cool way to look at one’s life, I thought. I’ve been thinking about this a lot. So I checked in with this idea of a full life instead of a busy one, asking myself these questions:
Am I doing things that are meaningful to me?
Am I making a difference?
Am I tired in an accomplished feeling way and not a stressful way at the end of the day?
Am I, for the most part, happy every day?
The answer is yes, this is the majority of the time, and how I feel. This, to me, is a full life and not a busy one.
And when I think of life as full, I think of it as rich, content, and wanting more.
How about you? Full or busy? How does this feel to you? I’d love to hear!
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This is the article I refer to if you’d like to read more, “Busy is a Sickness.”
I never met Seena Frost— the remarkable woman who created the process called SoulCollage®. A creative, intuitive, and fun process I learned about in 2014 and trained to become a facilitator.
I was overcome with emotion when I read this on her daughter, Jennifer’s Facebook page today: “my mother and friend, merged peacefully into oneness with Spirit late last night at home with her family gathered around her.”
Why does this feel so emotional? I wondered. And as I thought about it there are many reasons. First, to think about losing my own mother someday I know will be one of the hardest things I will ever have to face. I can’t even imagine it. But I know this is reality and I pray she will have the same peaceful transition as Seena when her time comes.
Second, I have such immense admiration for Seena. She made such a difference in this world. She has helped thousands, many being women, to find their authentic voices and to be proud in letting their light shine.
In a world where so many are frightened to let the mask come off and be who they really wish to be in fear of judgment, to have had someone like Seena who thrived on encouraging others to tap into their own wisdom, was such a gift – a deeply, rich, wonderful gift.
I’m also getting ready to facilitate a SoulCollage® workshop in my home this Saturday in the lower level of my home which I’ve dubbed, “Joyful Pause Studio.” It’s not my first time sharing this process, but it is the first time in my new space.
I can’t tell you how often I’ve felt scared to take this leap – scared that no one will sign up for the workshops —worried about being disappointed. But I’m honored to have five ladies who will be taking part in the workshop this Saturday.
And so it will be an even more special honor in sharing this with this group of ladies, knowing that I, along with over 2,300 other facilitators, are carrying on the legacy of Seena – with our own authentic styles and voices added to the mix.
I discovered through the many thoughtful memories being shared on Facebook of Seena something she wrote in an article that I want to share also in her honor and memory:
“I truly believe that creating our SoulCollage® cards and sharing them in groups adds positive energy to this cosmic vibration, and will help humans move into the next paradigm. We may not be able to see it, but perhaps, if we look up at the night sky, we can be reminded and reassured of the vastness of Indra’s Net, and, as individual jewels, continue to create and share compassion and hope and humor and love.”
Seena, now part of that night sky, shining ever so brilliantly bright – I take into my heart that beautiful vibration of her spirit and hope that by sharing this process with others, I too, can make a difference in helping others feel safe in sharing their inner light.
Just as I never imagined I’d have a dachshund with disc disease (IVDD)and needed a wheelchair to maneuver around like happened with Frankie, I didn’t imagine my third doxie Gidget, who also has disc disease, would also develop seizures.
I’m writing this post today to share what I’ve learned so far about seizures in hopes it will help someone else.
Gidget’s seizures began in January 2015. Just out of the blue, lying on the sofa with her around 9pm one night. I thought she was choking. I’d never witnessed a dog having a seizure before, but something told me that is what it was. It didn’t last long, only about two minutes (though it felt like forever).
After a call to an emergency animal clinic that is 45-minutes from my home, I was told to call my local vet in the morning unless she had another one overnight. Then I would need to bring her in.
From what I knew, she hadn’t had a seizure before this. I’ve since learned, this is how seizures can be. Oftentimes there is no known cause. Some believe they are born with this and at some point they just start having seizures.
Typically, treatment with drugs isn’t done until a dog has more than one seizure per month. And so it went with Gidget with her having one about every 6-8 weeks. Until the end of last November when she had four seizures, that were ten days apart.
Before that, in April 2015 she’d had two in one month. After much research, I opted to take her to Dr. Andrea Lanphear in Madison, about two hours away, who practices Western and Chinese medicine.
I’d read and heard from others about success they’d had with treating with Chinese herbs. Dr. Karen Becker, also a proponent of using herbs, was a deciding factor for me also. If herbs don’t work, adding in a drug at the lowest effective dose often can help dogs to no longer have seizures or diminish the frequency.
I also had a few readings done with my animal communicator, Dawn to try and understand why this was happening and how I could best support Gidget. From those readings, I added in massage for Gidget and working with a grounding stone with her– working to understand how energy works in the body and a way in helping support Gidget.
I’ll be honest, it was a tough year worrying if I was doing the right things for her and worrying if she was going to have a seizure that she couldn’t come out of. Added worry was that if it happened overnight or on a weekend, the emergency clinic was 45-minutes away.
I’m not against medication. But I think working with alternative treatments is a viable option first in some cases. And it’s always my wish to try and understand the whole picture because each dog is different.
Also, because of Gidget’s already compromised situation with having disc disease and not being able to walk at one point in her life, I felt I needed to weigh everything out very carefully.
A side effect to many of the drugs is ataxia (weakening of the hind legs), liver damage, increased hunger and thirst, along with a few others.
At this point I had done all I knew to do. This included, which was a personal piece, was working on myself. I had to come to an acceptance that this is what I was dealt with Gidget and I had to learn to deal with it. And at the core of it, I realized how I was afraid Gidget could die. I didn’t know if I was ready for that.
But I also don’t know if that is going to happen anytime soon. She could very well live a long time yet. The thing is, I finally knew in my heart one day that I was going to be okay with all of this. It isn’t up to me how this is going to play out. I realized I had to give her the gift of whatever is in her highest good, I will accept.
I also knew this was about standing up for what I believe in. While I’m not adverse to drugs, I wanted to be sure I’d researched and tried other viable options first, like I mentioned. But I also knew that my local vet may not agree with me on this. I was nervous about what he might say.
But after Gidget had the four seizures so close together I knew I had to find another way to hopefully diminish or help her with fewer seizures. So just last week after seeing our local vet, we added in Potassium Bromide. After reading about all the different seizure medications, side effects, and cost, I felt comfortable with this choice.
There are no guarantees with this drug or any other one for that matter and we are still adjusting it to hopefully lessen her side effects – she does have ataxia and can’t walk right now, some tremors, and some restlessness in the evenings. But with a new adjustment to the drug, we hope these will go away soon.
And while it may be too early to get my hopes up, I’m certainly optimistic we may be on the right path. It’s been 26 days since her last seizure–time will tell.
But I’ve learned a lot along the way. A lot about seizures and even more about myself. I’ve stood in what I believe in even though it wasn’t easy. I’ve also done everything I know from a deep place of love in what I feel is in the best interest of Gidget.
And I know the path she walks isn’t really up to me–I remind myself often to surrender to a higher power. Her journey here on this earth is already planned out. Each of us has lesson’s to learn. But I will do whatever I can to make her time here with me as good as it can possibly be.
I want to share that I’ve also found a wonderful support group, just like I did when Frankie was diagnosed with IVDD and Dodgerslist organization — but this time this is a resource for dogs with seizures.
I share that link below, along with a link to Dr. Andrea Lanphear and Anshen Veterinary Acupuncture , Animal Communicator Dawn Brunke, and a few others in hopes that should you be walking this path or will in the future, this will help you too.
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Resources
Canine-Epilepsy.com (this is the group with a helpful listserve to talk via email with others)
