Life can Change on a Dime

And just like that he was gone. Have you ever experienced a loss that completely turns your world upside down? I had that happen to me just before summer. My beautiful little lovebug cat, Rudy, managed to open a screen door and just like that he was gone. Disbelief, sadness, guilt are just a few of the emotions that ran rampant that afternoon. I am not here to burden you with this loss, but to share with you the revelations it brought.

In times of need I often turn to nature for solace. Where I live here in the Pacific NW, nature is all around me so solace is easy to find. This time, however, nature was the enemy or so I thought! For you see, it was nature that I feel lured my sweet Rudy into the woods with all its wonder and beauty. And for the first time, instead of seeing that wonder and beauty, I saw a big bad dark forest that tricked Rudy into trusting it and betraying me in the process. 

My special sitting place among the trees was no longer welcoming or appreciated. It took over a week for me to find forgiveness and see the trees as welcoming again.

I tried to turn my back on nature, but nature is a mighty teacher.

I finally came to understand that it wasn’t the big bad forest that lured Rudy away, it was a desire within Rudy to explore this unknown world that was so much bigger than the world he had come to know. It was a world I often told him about. A world he gazed upon each and every day through the windows. 

Instead of focusing on the fears, I turned to hope. Hope that nature would comfort and nurture him as it has always done for me. What if the trees were watching over him and the animals were guiding him to food and shelter. What if this was the adventure he had been hoping for and was simply waiting for the opportunity to present itself.

I realized I am not all that different from Rudy. I too, much to the dismay of some of my family members, left home for what I felt was my soul’s need for something different than what Illinois could offer me. So when the opportunity presented itself, I moved to Washington and began a new adventure.

Life’s about change

Without change how does one grow? I believe animals have souls just as humans. Like us, they have a purpose, and like nature they are one of our greatest teachers.

Rudy is an amazing teacher and this is what he taught me:
Letting go is hard, but holding on to something that was no longer meant to be is even harder.
Going with the flow of life is much easier than trying to control it.
Life is big and bold and how it will unfold is a mystery.
Seize the opportunities that make your soul sing.
Embrace and appreciate each moment.
Trust in the possibilities of what if.
Love with all your heart.
By all means, PLAY.

Lessons learned, Rudy. With love ~ thank you, thank you, thank you!