The first night puppy sitting this gorgeous being in the photo above, she watched me get on my mat to do yoga. After supervising from the couch, she made her way over and sat with her back to me. Then, without provocation, she threw her head up, stretching her throat and held the pose for at least forty-five seconds. I was blown away!
Such beauty. Such love.
This is the first time her parents left her behind and it’s always an honor to stay with these little beings as they manage the emotion of their love being thrown into chaos and confusion. With no way to assure her that they will be back, over the next couple of days she made up her mind that she would no longer go outside (in case her owners came back, I think) and became aggressive every time she saw her harness.
I could feel my nervous system heighten when it was time to take her out and, every time, I knew I needed to reset. If I didn’t, she would feel my nerves and be nervous too. She was still this beautiful being who was just having a tough time adjusting to something new. Uncharted waters. None of this was her fault. She was doing her best.
Every time I felt my nerves rise, I focused on love. How much love I had for her. Her love for her parents. Love in general. Giving, receiving. Simply, love.
This love helped me reset and it helped her feel safe. It helped her let me take her outside again (without a harness–so she knew her needs were being met. No harness means we can’t go too far).
I’ve experienced this before with other pups, in different ways, especially when it’s their first time being left. If I didn’t re-set, we never would have got through the hard stuff and over to the other side of being at ease. Closer. Loving.
It’s helped me understand a few of things more deeply. First, how powerful love is to create safety. Second, how essential it is that we all reset ourselves as much as we are able to over and over again (for our own benefit and for how we interact with others). Third, that love is a mechanism to help us reset back to center (and not stay in a place of reactivity).
This, of course, can take lots of practice (it has been years for me!) and it’s something I’d like to keep investing in.
I also had the pleasure of speaking with Juan Lee recently who talked about a large-picture system of love. Seeing love as a system was something I’d never considered and it makes so much sense to me. He came to it through a combination of being confused by Christianity and discovering what love meant in the military. Very intriguing!
Here’s the thing, what if love really is all there is? What does that look like? How does it work across all of humanity? All of nature? For all beings everywhere?
Have a listen to the podcast episode, Investing in the System of Love, that Juan and I co-created (along with guest plants Holly and Hawthorn who can help individually and collectively with this kind of loving).
Love also translates into our design of energy and infiltrates every aspect of life, relationship, and work. Where does love show up for you?
*The information shared in this post is not intended as medical advice or diagnosis. This post was originally published as a newsletter in December 2021.
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And, be sure to check out the pup’s (Daphne) entire yoga story in my story highlights on Instagram.
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