Empaths, Animals and Healing
I recently saw a quote from someone that said that empaths always connect with animals, and animals always heal empaths.
While I respect everyone’s ability to connect with animals through whatever means works for them, I believe this statement does a massive disservice to the animals in our lives. It puts unfair responsibility on an animal’s shoulders for “fixing” people who identify as empathic.
This really triggered me because it bypasses the human responsibility that we have to own our energy. It is no other being’s responsibility, or job to heal you. It puts us in a victim mentality allowing another being to control our level of growth.
The truth is that we are the only thing we can control. We can never control another being, or person, and assuming another being is going to heal us abdicates our responsibility to be our own advocate and do our own work. You have to feel it to heal it.
While it is true that there are many animals who come to this earth with a soul mission to teach and heal, that is not every animal or pet’s mission here on earth. Some come simply to be a dog. Or cat. No other ulterior motive necessary. In fact, I believe that the majority of animals are not here with a soul mission to teach or heal. The ones that are, are very rare gems.
What I do know is that by their very nature, animals will push us to our own healing, whether we like it or not. Through their behavior and responses to us our pets often push our buttons, triggering us, and offering up the opportunity for us to examine our own reactions, weaknesses and blind spots.
I have never been so angry, frustrated, humiliated, embarrassed, or scared as I have with my pets. Each of the situations that sparked those emotions offered me the opportunity for growth, and healing old wounds from my past. It wasn’t my pet’s job to heal me, but they have all helped me find the places in myself where I needed to do more work.
In all of these situations, what is available to us at all times is a window of opportunity to work with animals to choose a better way of BEing. As humans we have gotten so far away from healthy habits that maintain our well being (physical and mental/emotional). We do this in an effort to be “civilized.” As a result, we have forgotten so many of the ways that our ancestor’s daily lives fostered well being. Animals can bring us back to that just by being their normal, natural selves.
Listen to some powerful wisdom that I’ve derived from the animals in my life:
Take lots of breaks. Animals rarely do anything naturally for long stretches of time. They take frequent breaks. I watch my cats play hard, then pause, grooming, or sitting, and then go right back to playing hard.
Play LOTS. Dance, sing, be silly, chase things, wrestle, run around just for the fun of it. Do whatever feels good in the moment, no matter what it looks like. Joy and fun are just a hop, skip, and jump away at every moment.
Be present. Whatever is happening now is the only important thing. Don’t worry about yesterday, or tomorrow, now is where we need to stay.
Breathe, lots. Deep breaths help reset our bodies, and just plain feel good.
Whenever something is over, it’s over. If something happened yesterday, leave it in yesterday. Today is a new day, and it’s a fresh start. Don’t spin stories about what happened yesterday and drag it into today, it doesn’t do anyone any good.
Take things less personally. Most things that humans end up feeling slighted about don’t actually involve us personally, but are a reflection of the other person. Giving people the benefit of the doubt, until proven otherwise, makes life so much easier.
Here’s what I’ve learned connecting with animals. It is no one else’s responsibility to heal us, pay attention to us, or give us anything. Assuming so makes us a victim to the circumstances in our lives, and only ends up in a lot of pain and hurt for us. So it’s important that we do not assume that any animal (or human) is here to heal us. They can walk beside us on the path, but they can not fix us, or force us to change. Only we have the power to do that for ourselves, and we are very powerful when it comes to the capacity to do so. Our animals know that, and they will keep holding space for us to find our way. Keep following their advice, and you’ll find your own way, with their paw prints beside you.
If you’ve ever struggled with feeling triggered by your pet’s behavior, I’d love to chat about it. Click here to schedule a research call with me - I want to know about your situation and how your pet’s behavior has impacted you when in stressful situations. In return you’ll get time to ask me questions about whatever your struggles are.
