Just Thinking ...

At this time of the year, regardless of one’s religious or spiritual persuasion, it’s a tough time for people who have experienced or are going through the throes of loss – whether loss of a loved one through death or other separation, loss of a job, or in these troubled economic times – loss of their home or their retirement funds. It’s also a hard time to be dealing with illness. I’ve heard from two very dear people recently that they’ve been sick with shingles, that grown-up off-shoot of chickenpox. Another friend just lost his job. Job loss means not only lost income, but also a lost part of one’s identity; I remember that well, when I had that experience five years ago. Changing horses, career paths, and philosophies can follow on the heels of a lost job; happily, my friend has plans for training in a new and wonderful career! However we approach the festivities of the holiday season, there will be, for most of us, that thread of seriousness as we look back, look forward, and touch base with our values. Our values – maybe that’s what it’s really all about.

Grieving Pet Loss

Grief is the price we pay for loving our pets, for endearing them to us – but it’s worth it. Worth it, of course, for the companionship and affection they share with us, for their unconditional love. Even more than that, though, having a beloved pet connects us in such a deeply spiritual way with something much bigger than ourselves, something hard to describe with mere words – the tapestry, mutuality, and interconnectedness of life. I recently was talking about these things with a very dear friend who is mourning the recent passing of his cat who had been with him for almost 17 years.

On my website at http://claralandau.home.comcast.net I have a link entitled The Story Of Lucky. It may be helpful to readers who are going through the grief process. Time, after all, is the best healer, but there are people and books that can be of great help in a more immediate sense. I talk about some of them on the Lucky link.