Women's Empowerment Stories ...

Grief, Gratitude and Hope
 ~ Karen Titanich

Karen shares unexpected blessings around the loss of her pet.

Karen Titanich and Bonnie Hutchinson are the principals of SPIRIT Connections. Karen recently sent this message to their Planetary Energy Network.

First, a bit of background: I am one of those people who feels that a house is not a home unless it has a cat in it. I love all types of animals and have a special affinity with cats.

Almost 2 months ago, my husband Ed noticed a large lump on the chest of our beautiful Maine coon type cat named Brindal. We thought that 11-year-old Brindal might have been stung by a wasp or a spider since the garden had many of each. Concerned, we took Brindal to the vet to get checked out. The results were a shock to us. The X-ray showed that our gorgeous pet had an aggressive cancerous growth. The growth had broken through her chest wall at the sternum to create the lump visible on her chest.

One look at the X-ray and I knew that our days with Brindal were numbered. The vet confirmed that Brindal was dying and had only a short time to live. We decided to take her home and enjoy whatever time we had left before the cancer caused Brindal distress. That was the interesting part: Brindal was acting completely normally and if we had not seen the lump and the X- ray, we would have thought that everything was fine.

Knowing that Brindal was dying led to a heightened awareness of how precious life is and of Brindal’s life in particular. We cancelled a long weekend out of town so that we could be home with our beloved pet. Every moment was precious and to be savored since how long we had together was still a mystery.

It turned out that we had five weeks with Brindal from the time of her diagnosis. She kept her special joie de vivre until the last day: enjoying her wet food, watching the birds and squirrels with intensity, hanging out under the large spruce tree, dancing and chirping down the walk to greet us and lying between us in the evening and in bed at night.

On the last day, we realized that her condition had changed rapidly in only a few short hours: she had begun the process of withdrawing in preparation for death. With great sorrow, we took action on our decision to have our beloved Brindal euthanized before she could experience discomfort or distress.

Even in her final minutes, her great spirit and personality shone through. The vet clinic is her least favorite place and she vocalized her usual displeasure at being there. We were able to settle Brindal down after the staff inserted the catheter in her leg. She was quiet and peaceful in Ed’s arms when the vet injected the barbiturate that ended her life.

You may be wondering what this has to do with planetary energy work. First we need to remember that anything we focus on in our personal lives has an impact on the planetary level. Finding out that Brindal was dying gave me a heightened awareness and understanding of being in the moment. When the exact length of time left to us is unknown and yet known to be finite, each moment becomes even more precious. Do we have hours, days, or even a few weeks? When viewed through this lens, each moment asks to be lived to the fullest.

For me, living each moment to the fullest included sitting in the sun with a much-loved cat purring in my lap. It also meant ensuring that Brindal got to do the things that brought her much joy -- she probably spent more time outside in the garden since I was more alert to her signals than usual.

While my grief is still sharp, I am so very grateful for the gift of those very special five weeks with Brindal. The heightened awareness of each moment is with me still. This morning I took a few moments to admire a glorious sunrise painting the dawn sky with wisps of pink and blue and gold. I savor the food I eat. I luxuriate in a comfortable bed and a soak in the tub. I give thanks for all the parts that make up the wonder-filled life that I live. I am truly blessed.

My hope for you is that you take a few moments now and close your eyes. What are the things that lift your spirit? What have you been putting off even though you know that it brings you great joy? Who would you like to speak with even if it means a long distance phone call? Please pick 3 simple things to do in the next week. Taking time to sit in the sun with a purring cat in your lap might make your list too.

Doing the things that bring you joy and lift your spirit means your energy is lifted. And lifting your energy helps to lift the energy of the planet.

~ Karen Titanich

Karen and her partner Bonnie Hutchinson have created http://www.spiritconnections.com to share their knowledge and skills around working with energy. Learning the laws of energy can help you address the challenges you face and make the good times even better. Bonnie and Karen offer a FREE 7-Part E-Course on Energy Work Basics. Sign up at http://www.spiritconnections.com/webedit/home.html