Keep Going

Some days are tough. The "to-do" list never ends, the chores never stop, and if you have people or animals depending on you, you are contanstantly meeting all the needs...except yours. Sound familiar?

It's easy to scroll through pictures of happy smiles, vacations, and beautiful scenery online and feel somehow like you're missing something. The "if only this" and "if only that" thoughts start to pile up and you feel a lonliness creep in because clearly you are the only one who doesn't have it all together. I just want to tell you that it isn't true, and some days are just tough. Sometimes, the tough days outnumber the not-so-tough days. You aren't alone in that, either. Even animals have hard days.

It doesn't matter why some days are tough. You don't need a diagnosis or a "reason" to have hard days, and it doesn't mean anything about who you are as a person. Being down in the mud doesn't have to be your homebase, though. My mom used to remind me often that life is sometimes akin to moving a large rock pile - when the rock pile feels especially tall and heavy, step back and look at how you are trying to move it. We so often try to pick up the whole pile from the bottom and carry the entire load at once: jobs, relationships, kids, aging parents, properties, animals, bills...and it's completely overwhelming. Take some deep breaths, and pick one rock up off the top. Just move that one. Check it off. Do one more. And you know what happens? The pile starts to get less tall and heavy, one rock at a time.

There's something else really important to know: you WILL have days where you're down in the mud and you DON'T have to be in the mud by yourself. Sometimes it feels hard to ask for company when you're down there, I get that. But there is always someone, somewhere, who's willing to be there with you for a bit. And the best part? It doesn't have to be a person. Animals are great at being down in the mud with you! No judgement. No questions. No unsolicited advice. Just you, and them, and the mud. On the very toughest days, that can be the most healing thing possible.

So if you're looking for a safe space to contemplate, or you'd like to talk about the possibilities of working with animals in a therapeutic way, know that you have options. It doesn't have to be here at GHRS, but we're here if you want to know more. We truly just want you to find that special someone who will sit in the mud with you.