By: Deanna Chesnut. M.A.,
Author, Purrs & Promises
WHAT TO DO… WHEN YOUR HEART IS HURTING
(Disclaimer : Deanna Chesnut/Purrfect Talker, has no affiliation with any website of any links included in this blog.)
Even if I used every word in the dictionary I could not begin to describe Hurricane Harvey the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey. I saw people trying to save themselves, leaving all “possessions” behind, except for their animals. I got an email about the shelters trying to make room for rescued animals. And I tried to quell my imagination as I thought of all those now deceased—humans and animals—who may still be discovered. I want to extend my very deepest sympathy to all all those survivors and those who are carrying on through this horrendous ordeal. I send as I write all love and light that they all—humans and animals—may be reunited, in this world or beyond the Rainbow Bridge.
“What else,” I asked myself, “can I do to ease my personal feeling of loss and that of the “collective consciousness?” I know in the very essence of my being that animals grieve; I saw it and wrote about it in my book, Purrs & Promises. They will be grieving for their families even as the families will be grieving for them. So I offer these suggestions to the pet families whose hearts feel like they are bleeding tears. :
Even if Angels and Saints aren’t a part of your religious belief, I’m sure that St. Francis of Assisi, St. Gertrude-Patron Saint of Cats, and St.Roch-Patron Saint of Dogs and Dog Lovers will hear your words and dispense your blessings to all animals, whether our pets, past and present, those beloveds of the hurricane survivors, past and present, and for those animals who have never known a kind word before, whether still “here,” or now over the Bridge. Through prayer, meditation or just holding mental pictures of those animals and talking to them, reassuring them, still loving them, they will “get the message.” I must believe that.
For a more concrete expression of your feelings,
1) Check into the Monday night (internet) International Candle Light Ceremony at: https://www.rainbowsbridge.com/CandleLighting_Tribute/default.htm
2) Send a card (i.e., https://www.rainbowsbridge.com/Sympathy_Card.aspx)
3) Buy a little statue of an angel or of a cat or dog or pig, or bird as a place to focus your loving thoughts,
4) Print and Frame The Rainbow Bridge poem
5) Make a donation to an animal shelter in the name of specific animals, or in the generality of all animals.
6) Adopt a homeless animal,
7) Remember to look into your pet’s eyes every day and tell them thank you for blessing your life,
8) Search online for a copy of the Rainbow Bridge or another poem, print it out, and remember to read it and, each day, to visualize this happy ending…for all the world.
