dachshund

Go Within and Let Go

Posted by Barbara Techel

gidget and animal reading

For the last two weeks I’ve been practicing my meditation routine again. I had gotten out of the habit for a time being.

Miss Gidget seems to be enjoying it too. The minute I open the door to my writing cottage, she scurries in and heads for my large, peach wicker chair. I pick her up, tuck her in her blanket and this is where we sit Zen for 15-minutes.

Okay, I admit, we don’t always succeed for a full 15-minutes as one of us gets wiggly. But we are doing pretty good. It is why it is called a practice.

After meditation, I’ve been immersing myself in a new daily ritual of working with animal cards — a way of learning more about other animals and understanding their wisdom.

I shuffle the Animal Wisdom Tarot card deck I have with a question in mind. Either something I’m having a challenge with or just asking what it is I need to know for the day.

After a few shuffles, I choose a card at random. I then sit with the card for a few moments listening for a message of its meaning for me.

I journal what thoughts come. This day, having chosen Bat I wrote about how I am learning to be more comfortable in the shadows of unknowns, trying my best to release worry, and accept things as they are.

After I journal for a few moments I turn to the booklet included with the cards. It is always a wonderful confirmation reading Bat’s message according to the booklet which is surrender, release, sacrifice, renew and the overall message of “go within, and let go.”

It’s exactly where I’ve been in my inner world with some things I’ve been working through.

The universe really does support us if we let it.

And I love how often Gidget looks on as the wise self that she is — all these things of which she already knows — as she sits and waits in total patience for me to understand.

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On Being a Dog. Human’s Listen Up.

Posted by Barbara Techel

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I admit that I’m sometimes a little over protective with Gidget. Being so tiny, at 10 lbs. I worry a bit more about her than I do Kylie, my Lab of 80 lbs.

It’s another gorgeous November day in Wisconsin, which by the forecast looks like it will come to an end later today, and colder temperatures, wind and rain more typical of November will be setting in.

Taking advantage of the sun and high 50s, I took Kylie and Gidget for a walk on a favorite route of mine. It winds around an athletic field with a wooded area bordering three sides of it, which I sometimes walk the dogs through too. But today we stayed on the path around the field.

One section we always walk by has three large trees, each with a split rail fence around them because they are each in somewhat of a ravine. I’ve never let Gidget off leash in this area, though Kylie is free to explore.

But in working on myself and learning to let Gidget be all dog more often, I dropped the leash so she could romp through the leaves and smell just about every blade of grass just like Kylie often does.

It really was fun watching her check out the world around her on her own without me hovering too close by. Though I admit, I did get a little nervous when she got too close to this tree where the ravine drops quite a ways down.

But I reminded myself that this is when trust has to come into play. I gently called out her name and her wee little ears perked up as she quickly glanced my way. And then off she went in a flash in a new direction, exploring new territory.

I smiled. I then stopped to really check in with how I felt in that moment, realizing how good it felt to let her be Dog which according to the Animal Wisdom Tarot, Dog is “scampering, jumping, digging, barking—Dog delights in everything, playfully prompting us to join the adventure, love wholeheartedly, and have fun in all we do. Dog reminds us that we are on the right path and life is good.”

And that’s the thing. I let go of my own fears and insecurities and trusted in what Gidget knows best in her world of Dog. And that world of which she lives from, opened up to me. And she was right. We were on the right path and life is good.

It actually felt even better than good–it was grand!

Letting go of my worries made it possible for me to understand Gidget even more and to deepen into her world without fear, and to trust that all is well.

I’m really glad I listened today and I plan to be much better at this going forward. I imagine Gidget agreeing and saying, “You silly human, I’m just fine!”

Okay, little one, I hear you. And I promise to be better at letting you be Dog.

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Silence and Stillness. Crucial to Living a Meaningful Life.

Posted by Barbara Techel

silence

I ran across this quote this morning. It really spoke to me, especially as I continue to work on the fourth draft of my second memoir, Wisdom Found in the Pause.

This book, in part, about my paralyzed dachshund Joie and her short life with me ultimately led me to not wanting to write (or talk much) after she passed away. As someone who loved to write and share my passion about special needs dogs, this felt very odd and scary.

Taking a sabbatical from everything I had known and loved to do for the prior six years, from keeping up my blog, interacting with my audience on social media, writing books, and public speaking gigs for children and adults, to now plunge into what felt like nothingness felt like the scariest thing ever.

While it was true I was craving stillness, silence, and a slowing down, I was afraid to be with my own thoughts. I was afraid to hear and examine what I knew to be true – that I wanted to let go of a chapter in my life I had so enjoyed, which at the time really didn’t make sense. The scary part also was that I didn’t know where I wanted to go next.

And being in silence can seem daunting and overwhelming to face all those fears.

While I was very restless at the beginning of my sabbatical, oftentimes feeling like I wanted to jump right out of my own skin, I’m so glad I stuck with it.

It was in that silence and stillness that the gifts started to make themselves known…and where being in the presence of silence and making friends with it I could gain more clarity. Silence and stillness is now an ongoing practice in my life, even when I veer a bit far from it I hear that inner voice calling me back – to find balance.

I believe it is crucial to pay attention to it in order to live a meaningful life.

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