sometimes I think our greatness is in these millions of moments in my mind when someone like Jeanette was near the end of her life. i see these moments like when the fire department was pulling her out of the mud and carrying her to solid ground, the 25 or 30 volunteers who carried her again to even softer more comfortable ground, mo, cuddles and I wrapped up in blankets to sleep on hay bales out in the field to be there if she needed, Angelina sitting with her under a shade shelter keeping her from getting overheated by wiping her down with wet cool cloths, the tears we all shared with percy as she was helped to peacefully pass out of this life and even the rebuilding of the beach around the pond so no other 1500 pound senior animal would get mired there ever again.
and I see our greatness in less significant ways too...a small group of us gathered together to turn and change crash and freshen his bed. someone washed, dried and folded the fresh linens so that they were there waiting for when he needed them. someone took the wet and soiled bedding away to wash, dry, fold and put away for another animal's use.
there is a simple yet single minded purpose here to provide comfort and care. it is a commitment that we all gather together and share. we come from many different places, we have experienced many different lives but the common ground we all walk on is a deep commitment to allievate suffering in animals lives.
there is a greatness in this, this ability to set ourselves and our lives aside for the moments in time when an animal or many animals need us.
these is also a greatness in the animals here...crash's patient and gracious acceptance that his end is looming near. pac's willingness to accept this new and far different life, past black buddy's embracing of a suddenly nutured and cared about life.
phoebe is not weight bearing on one of her back legs tonight...I am not sure what has happened, I just know she is in pain. I gave her some metacam and tramadol and hope she will soon feel better again. there is a greatness even in phoebe whose head is so full of conflicting thoughts and emotions that she sometimes drives both me and herself insane. and yet phoebe continues to get up and meet every single new and challenging day with an enthusiastic willingness to continue to participate.
it hit me when I was driving home from work tonight, that I am blessed to be surrounded by greatness. the greatness reveals itself in various ways...a full shelf of clean laundry, a bowl of water gently held for an end of life dog, some kind and cheerful words to a princess pig, a clean litter box or a bowl of canned food or a handful of treats to a patiently or not so patiently, waiting cat. sometimes that greatness is discovered in large and soul bending ways, like it was the day that 30 individual people picked up a cow and carried her 300 feet so she could lay for her last few days somewhere soft and safe.
it has been almost a decade of living within the arms of saints greatness of heart.
I am not sure when surrounded by such greatness why sometimes I get lost. and I am not sure what to do about it except try not to drag myself down with my own negative feelings and thoughts.
there is a greatness to saints that if I open my eyes widely and breathe in deeply I can feel right to my bones..it is in the animals and it is in all of the humans, including myself, who have come together each day for one single purpose, to live the day better than it was before for almost 1000 senior and special needs animals.
I think that is what makes saints so great.
Wow...thank you Mo. So true