Trust

We rarely speak about the elements on the Medicine Wheel and when we do discuss them, we usually move quickly through them as if they are steps within a process rather than actual whole experiences. For example I’ve been spending lots of time with our new Beagle puppy. She’s been with us for a little over three weeks. During this time I’ve observed how important trust is to dogs even more so than it is to humans.

When CT played his drums last weekend, Bella ran back and forth from the living room to my desk where I was working. She was nervous and scared. She didn’t trust the noise. When we started teaching her to walk and sit, we noticed that she sat sideways rather than confidently forward. After a while we realized it was because she wasn’t completely comfortable with what she was doing. In the car, in the dark, in the back yard and while roaming the neighbourhood all of her behaviours translated to trust. Did she trust the dogs in the neighbour’s yard; did she trust the leaves and the wind; did she trust the people who asked to pet her; and did she trust us to take care of her? For pets it is different than for humans, they don’t seem to have the choice to be independent and autonomous. They always have to answer to someone else’s commands, demands and life style.

Seeing trust from our little Beagle’s perspective has been humbling. Every day she shows us a little bit more trust as if to say: “My trust is earned.” After having been around dogs my whole life I’ve always noticed that dogs who trust their masters, respect their masters and will even give their life for their masters. We don’t realize how difficult it must be for a puppy or an adult dog to be shuffled from home to home; strangers to strangers. As humans, we’re quick to complain about abandonment and rejection; but we’re not always aware or responsible about abandoning and rejecting others whether it be other humans or pets. I remember when my kids were born my husband and I limited their exposure to people for the first month. It somehow made sense to us that before they could trust others they needed to be able to trust us and their new home. Genetics may mean that we share blood, genes and at some paranormal level ancestral burdens; but it doesn’t mean that it guarantees trust and love. With newborns just trusting their physical bodies seems difficult. At first when you have babies it’s uncomfortable to call yourself mom and dad as if you need to earn the titles somehow… For E and I it took getting up at night for feedings, changing diapers and slowly getting to know our newborn babies before the words fit. Lets put it this way, being parents wasn’t a given just because we had sex and gave birth to them. It’s not any different with a pet.

Trust is something we can work on and the more we develop trust the more it vibrates in our aura and the more people can feel it. I’m a huge dog lover and at some point in my life I had the opportunity to be around wolves. I knew that I couldn’t approach them in the same manner that I approached dogs. They have a stronger basic instinct and because they are wild animals they don’t see humans as masters. For them it’s more about submission and domination. They live according to natural and cosmological law. Still I was incredibly surprised when the male wolf identified me as his alpha and right away expected me to take my role by his side. At some point, the wolf brought me the half top side of a caribou’s head with antlers and all and dropped it at my feet. He waited for me to pick it up and in his world, he expected me to eat from it, honour his gift and acknowledge him as a strong hunter. I understood at that moment that he was seeing things in me that I hadn’t explored completely yet or integrated. I also noticed that I wasn’t present enough to him or others yet because I couldn’t read information from their aura that could dictate my choices, my actions and my intentions in return. I found in that moment that this wolf was the higher specie and that I still had lots to learn and to change.

With time I learnt to read the aura vibrating around Ravens, Chipmunks, Herons, Snakes, Mice etc… Trees, and even Homes. I’ll admit I find it so much easier to express myself through working on my aura and filling it up with strong medicine than with words. Unfortunately there are less and less people who have the ability to read me. Still, I’m always amazed at how many humans unconsciously use intuition and hypersensitivity. I’ve also gotten impatient with time, with people’s speeches and self-indulgent stories. I prefer paying attention to the energy that vibrates around people. It’s often more informative. I tend to believe that if people focused more on the power they can grow within themselves and learn how to use it – they would be more content with themselves and life.

I watched my kids and their friends grow up; and I was always impressed at the difference between a child that is encouraged to trust and a child that has trust issues. One seems more in tune with the World and more aware; more excited about life and eager to be part of it; while the other seems discouraged, depressed, and quick to judge it all. We often forget how important trust is to our healthy, individual growth and development.

In the last few weeks I had to choose a veterinarian for Bella. I knew that I didn’t want to return to the vet we had for Lucky or for every other dog before Lucky, going as far back as when we lived with our parents and had pets. Luck hated going to the vet and I noticed that many of the other cats and dogs who consulted that same clinic shared similar behaviours. None of them seem interested in each other; always racing for the door; disinterested in cookies; and trembling under the chairs of their masters, whining or growling. Lucky would shed uncontrollably. Through my whole life I was told that it was “normal” for our pets to hate the vet.

“It lasts barely half an hour,” would say my father, “they can handle it.”

With Bella’s arrival in our home, I decided to make a change. I chose to ask the dreaming to find me a vet that would best suit our family and our vision of the World. I was extremely confident that I would find a place that would bring us a new and better suited experience for us. It didn’t take more than a few nights and I was directed to a new veterinarian building in SH. I was pleased when I arrived at the clinic and found cats lounging all over the reception area and in the windows. Dogs were left roaming the back room pleasantly playing with each other. We didn’t wait very long before we were greeted in one of the examining room where a technician suggested that we take Bella off her leash.

“Let her explore,” she suggested, “it’s the only way she’ll trust us and this environment. We don’t want her to be afraid of the veterinarian do we?”

I don’t think I ever smiled so much. After a bit of sniffing and climbing, Bella finally laid down by the door and fell asleep. “WOW!” I thought to myself “a sure sign of trust.” I talked about our visit for days to family, friends and neighbours totally impressed with these people and this clinic, almost eager to return.

I believe that there is a way to change your life if you’re committed to make it happen. It takes feeding positive, envisioning energy to your spirit. I like to see it as nourishing your aura or your turtle shell with strong and positive attitudes. It will eventually attract new people, new challenges and new experiences to your life. It will bring you to a path of beauty and abundance. It’s worked for me and it’s worked for many of the people who have chosen to walk the path along with us as well.

Trust… It’s more than just a word or a stone on the Wheel, it’s an experience.

When you can infuse trust into everything you do in life and connect your story to the earth, the wind, the rain, the rocks even, you begin to feel strong, content, happy and nourished. It’s then, that you start emanating the medicine of trust and start inspiring those around you. This is the way of the Circle.

P.S.: Thank you to Bella for reminding of me Trust and bringing it to my personal Medicine Wheel this month.