The Power in the Paws

 Do you pay attention when your body is whispering or do you wait until it shouts?

On the surface, life looked great. Ken and I were thriving with a newfound connection through our thirty-day challenge – which is now well on its way towards ninety days. Grace and I were enjoying our daily hikes and excursions to the dog park. And I was super busy getting my marketing and publicity plan together for my upcoming memoir, JUNKYARD DOG, A Rescue Story.

But something felt a little off.

As I washed the evening dishes, I noticed a trickle of unease, then promptly ignored it. While Grace and I shared our nightly routine of popcorn on the couch, the disquiet grew a little stronger. The smart thing would have been to stop whatever I was doing, be still, and pay attention. Instead, I turned on the TV and binged on episodes of The Walking Dead.

A few days later, when Grace and I arrived at the dog park, I slipped on a muddy path and hit the ground hard. When I got up, I told myself I was ok, insisted really, but two hours afterward, I could barely walk.

There’s Only One Way Up From a Fall

I fell over a week ago. And although it’s been slow going physically, I’ve also experienced a powerful 360-degree shift. As an acupuncturist, I was trained to look for the underlying cause (mental, emotional, spiritual) to any physical condition that a client presented with. I did the same thing with myself now. I tuned into that wave of unease that had been whispering for me to pay attention and asked myself, “what do you need?” The answer arrived in short order –Be rather than do. It was the moment I realized I’d drifted out of balance; I had been working so hard on my book that I had forgotten to nurture the element that feeds all things in Carlyn – my spirit.

I’m spending more time in stillness now; meditating every morning, and listening to inspiring teachers, such as Thích Nhất Hạnh, Eckhart Tolle, Caroline Myss, and Grace Fischer. In case you don’t know who Grace Fischer is, she is my rescue dog who models living in the present in a most joyful and authentic way. Before I took a tumble, Grace had been doing her best to nudge me off my computer chair, to get me to play more when she sensed my stress rising, and to simply Paws for the Good Stuff. But I didn’t listen. Sorry Grace.

The result of my approach to being rather than doing is a greater sense of connection to myself that I haven’t experienced in years. This morning Ken asked me how I felt.

“At peace,” I said. I don’t remember ever saying those words before.

How does your body speak to you?

My body spoke to me with an unexplainable and persistent unease. But for you it might manifest as a little headache that comes and goes, tension and tightness, sleeplessness, melancholy, anxiety–our bodies have a vocabulary that is unique for each of us. It’s good to listen when it is whispering rather than waiting for the body to shout. If you don’t know what your body is saying, be patient, take time to just sit and watch the sunset or sunrise, put down the remote and listen to inspirational teachers and mentors, including your best dog doctor or cat nurse. Who better than our furry friends to teach us that life is really all about the being rather than the doing?

Stay Healthy and Stay Pawsitive,

Carlyn MDO 💜

PS: Who is your favorite go to teacher when your soul needs some nurturing?

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