adrenaline Archives - Owl Medicine: Shamanic Healing

Déjà Vu

I had a shocking sense of déjà vu early this evening. I set out to take a walk and as I passed by our neighbor’s house, their newer dog, about a year old, nearly lost its mind barking at us. This is not uncommon, which is unfortunate, since we walk every day. (You’d think it would know us?)

The owner was outside and as we waved to each other I laughingly yelled (to be heard over the barking) how I sure hoped this dog wouldn’t find a hole in their fence. Of course, I was alluding to the incident I wrote about here, that occurred two years ago. This new dog is larger than the two that were involved in the prior incident, which makes its aggressive behavior a bit more worrisome – although those little dogs can be vicious!

No sooner had the words come out of my mouth than the dog rampaged along the perimeter and rammed its head against the fence, knocking a picket clean off the lateral supports. Luckily, Spartacus was on a short enough leash that I was able to scoop him into my arms before the larger dog got to us. Of course, the butterscotch colored pup (which piled on and added to the fracas last time) tried to join in again this time, but Spart was such a great boy – allowing me to hold him without struggling or taking his angst out on me.

I have to admit – it was a most unpleasant way to begin our walk.

Myriad of Shapes – Photo: L. Weikel

Nature’s Reward

It took us a good mile at least to settle down from the adrenaline rush we’d both experienced.

I rewarded Spartacus with an abundance of treats. He needed to know how much I appreciated what a good boy he’d been.

Meanwhile, I was treated to a spectacular display of artwork painted across the sky. And the artistry shifted and transformed before my eyes over and over. At one point, I stopped to take yet another photo – this time of the setting sun looking for the life of me like a fried egg, sunny side up – and was startled by a Red-tailed Hawk shrieking at me and taking off from a tree only about 15 feet from me. It flew high into a tree in the field beside the road, raucously crying out again and again. Then what I gathered was its mate (which I hadn’t seen up until that point) took off toward the cliffs. She (the first one I saw – I’m guessing at its gender) yelled at me a couple more times and then also headed toward the cliffs.

I’m sharing just a few of the photos from tonight’s walk. I heeded the message of the Hawks and allowed the sheer abundance of beauty and magic surrounding me to ease my mind, chill me out, and bring me back to myself.

Heron in Repose – Photo: L.Weikel

(T-178)

Precious Awakened – Photo: L. Weikel

Little Things

Each and every day, particularly right now, focusing upon the little things in life, the things that make us smile, is an act of self-love. Off the top of my head, listening to my cat Precious snore like a longshoreman while curled up on the back of the couch right behind me fits that bill.

And now that I start to contemplate the many ‘little’ things I’m grateful for, I see how many of them revolve around non-human creatures, especially Spartacus (our Boston Terrier), Precious, Tigger, and Cletus. I can say without qualification that they bring a dimension of joy and comfort into my life that I’d be lost without.

Tigger Snoozing – Photo: L. Weikel

You know me…recounting the joys my four-legged companions bring to my life is something I engage in routinely. And it’s not at all likely that I’ll stop dipping into the pool of love they provide anytime soon.

That’s at least partly because simply living life in 2020 and paying attention to our collective reality means we are bombarded with news that hurts our souls. Literally. Even if we only cursorily glance at the headlines just to see where we stand as a community or a country, it’s enough to drain our energy and leave us feeling defeated, deflated, or perhaps occasionally worse: enraged.

Our nervous systems are drenched in the fight or flight hormones of cortisol and adrenaline. And unlike pretty much all other times in our nation’s history, because of the ubiquitous nature of technology in our hands, we are kept mercilessly up-to-date on the latest atrocities being waged against the things many of us care about most.

Spartacus & Tigger getting some flame time – Photo: L. Weikel

Purring and Comfort and Walks

Beyond the scientific proof that the purring of cats is healing to the physical body, I for one can attest to how my cats have mended tears in my emotions since I got my first kitten at age six: Katen. Katen was a black and white domestic shorthair cat with a white hourglass on his nose. He got me through my childhood, pure and simple. He was my closest confidant (although I was lucky enough to have a couple two legged ones too – you know who you are).

It’s amusing to me to realize that he was black and white – just like my beloved Sheila and Spartacus; just like Cletus. Indeed, just like the marvelous Stinky who’s been around recently.

I love feeling the heft of a cat on top of the covers, his purr resonating through the layers of sheets and blankets. (I will admit to allowing Spartacus to nestle along my back underneath the covers. Talk about a comfort.)

And the walks. The walks are good for all of us. All of these little things, these opportunities for giving and receiving love, make my life incredibly rich. I hope you have such little things too.