Life is slippery. Let me take your hand.

The spirit world is almost like a middle world between the human world and the great consciousness or collective awareness. Our world is full of suffering. We seem tied to the limits of our physical nature. As humans, we are in a sense - trapped in time. Our spirit helpers are here to help guide us through this human experience.

Animals seem to know about death. When a wolf loses a member of it's pack, they stop traveling and howl for 3 days. When the member does not return, the wolf pack moves on. Some Native American traditions include a song sung to the newly released spirit to help it in it's journey back to the spirit world.

When Oshun got sick, she had been with us for 5 years. we brought her in to sleep with us on the hide-a-bed in the living room. We let Boozie in so that he could be a part of our closeness. So that we could say goodbye together. Usually Boozie would spend his unsupervised time in the house trying to spray on everything. This time though, he sat very still, next to Oshun, with his eyes half open. Knowing. He never left her side.

Boozie knew he was sick before we knew. His usually aloofness was exchanged for quiet company sleeping next to us in the garage as we watched TV. As we realized what was happening, we began to take extra care for him. We sat next to him petting his white head as he purred. We told him how much we loved him and how thankful we were for his extraordinary friendship and the fierce protection he provided us for 11 years. As we came to peace that he had to leave this world, we knew he already was.

When 1 year old Pearly got hit by a car, we were not ready and had not carefully prepared to say goodbye. It took exactly one hour. I saw her lying in the road. I wrapped her in a blanket and brought her to our front porch. I called Warren. He was there within 10 minutes. We dug a hole, lit sage and buried her. Warren went back to work and I went inside. How do you even begin to understand or be at peace when you haven't had time to prepare?

The truth of the matter is, whether weve planned a potential loss or have experienced a sudden loss, it is ok to be a peace. We don't have to understand. We have to face the lion either way. We have to be courageous. We have to open our hearts.

When our hearts grieve for a loss, we are surrounded by beings who are there to comfort us. Once we open our hearts, we open the doorway to the spirit world. We open the way for our spirit helpers to take our hand. We are spiritual beings on a human journey. We are divine beings.

So as I've experienced different losses in my life, and I've started to view them in a new light, I've come to realize that each animal spirit that came into my life in physical form, was there for a reason. And not just for me. Oshun was my best friend in a lonely time of my life. Boozie was our protector yet we were the only ones he ever let see how big his heart was. Pearly helped us open our hearts in a painful time. We did not choose our animals. They chose us. So I have to pay attention now - what am I learning from my animal friend? What are they here to teach me? It is up to me to learn the lesson. One thing I know for sure, I am surrounded by animal spirits, physically and metaphysically, which makes my human experience extremely comforting. Life is slippery so I let the spirits take my hands.