Forgive me for getting so deep here, but I read something this morning concerning pet loss... [View all]

I've probably made it pretty clear that I'm having a terribly difficult time with the loss of my dog a few days ago. I can honestly say that I've never felt so bad in my life, and I've experienced plenty of death (both human and animal).

I've been reading that my feelings are natural, because grief tends to be cumulative, and what I'm feeling is grief for both my dog, and all others that have passed in my life. My wife has an EAP (Employee Assistance Program) that offers free mental health counseling. If I'm not out of this acute phase in a couple of weeks, I will avail myself to this program.

I read something this morning that really resonated with me. These words are from a spiritual teacher named AH Almaas.

“Spiritual teacher AH Almaas says that the reason we love our animals so much is that they bring forth essence within us. Essence is the qualities of our own soul. We tend to lose essence over time unless our parents or other people are there to mirror it back to us and remind us of it. We find our essence again within these soulful relationships. When our pets pass on, as they inevitably will, we have to remember the qualities they made us remember within ourselves. This is how our pets live on within us forever. They woke up something important in us that we must never forget.”