That’s what I’ve got today. Solace. Just a little bit, but a little bit goes a long way.
First, I want to tell you about the podcast I did Saturday March 28th with some amazing people. Come, Sit, Stay Podcast, (still available, at least for few weeks), was initiated by internationally known dog trainer and speaker, Kathy Sado, when she called Lynn Ungar after reading her remarkable poem, Pandemic. Lynn has given me permission to share it here:
Pandemic
What if you thought of it
as the Jews consider the Sabbath—
the most sacred of times?
Cease from travel.
Cease from buying and selling.
Give up, just for now,
on trying to make the world
different than it is.
Sing. Pray. Touch only those
to whom you commit your life.
Center down.
And when your body has become still,
reach out with your heart.
Know that we are connected
in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.
(You could hardly deny it now.)
Know that our lives
are in one another’s hands.
(Surely, that has come clear.)
Do not reach out your hands.
Reach out your heart.
Reach out your words.
Reach out all the tendrils
of compassion that move, invisibly,
where we cannot touch.
Promise this world your love–
for better or for worse,
in sickness and in health,
so long as we all shall live.
–Lynn Ungar 3/11/20
The poem began a connection between Kathy and Lynn, that turned into a connection between them, me, veterinary behaviorist Dr. Chris Pachel, trainer Marissa Martino of the podcast Canine Conversations and Paws and Reward training, and Barrie Finger of Mindful Dog Training, who led us on a short meditation, all backed up by the ridiculously adept techie skills of Marissa and Susan Solomon, who then connected with 450 people from all over the world. We’re in this together you all, and together we shared our grief, fear, joy, senses of humor, and some practical ways to weather this crisis.
Something I said during the podcast, about us all going down the rabbit hole into a strange and unimagined world, inspired Lynn to write this poem right after the podcast:
On the Other Side
Through the looking glass
Through the looking glass,
down the rabbit hole,
into the wardrobe and out
into the enchanted forest
where animals talk
and danger lurks and nothing
quite makes sense
in the way it did before,
you have fallen into a new story.
It is possible that you
are much bigger—or smaller—
than you thought.
It is possible to drown
in the ocean of your own tears.
It is possible that mysterious friends
have armed you with magical weapons
you don’t yet understand,
but which you will need
to save your own life and the world.
Everything here is foreign.
Nothing quite makes sense.
That’s how it works.
Do not confuse the beginning
of the story with the end.
–Lynn Ungar 3/28/20
I hope you find a chance to listen to it.
Inspired by my good friend’s amazing new book, Hand in Hand, a collaboration between her photography skills (her work has been xxx now in multiple prestigious shows) and the writing of her husband, Randy xxx.
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Poop4U Blog
via www.Poop4U.com
Trisha, Khareem Sudlow
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