By Shafiya Eve
Six AM Friday, Memorial Day weekend I wake to find my beloved canine friend, Margo, writhing in pain, unable to get up. Nine AM my friend John and I are at the vet’s having carried her on a blanket gurney. The vet’s exam is performed throughout Margo’s painful protests. She is soon to be 14 with a compromised sacrum and cervix and poor neurological responses. She’s recently recovered from kidney failure and her liver enzymes are elevated.
Our choices were to help her peacefully cross the Rainbow Bridge or intervene with medication, a heart wrenching choice. After much discussion we chose intervention. Then, the idea pops in to take her to Dr. Matt Shifflett’s office a wonderful chiropractor in Virginia, where I was living at the time. I walked into Dr. Matt’s office tearfully asking for help. He comes to the car and lays his hands on Margo, so gentle, loving and caring. Finding the misalignments, he performs his magic. Margo closes her eyes and visibly relaxes, a moving heartwarming sight.
Returning home Margo struggles to her feet and takes the biggest poop ever, then another. She begins sauntering around, sniffing and wagging her tail. This was Friday’s miracle and continued through Saturday.
Two AM Sunday morning, I’m startled awake by Margo’s painful cries. I am overwhelmed with worry, concern and helplessness of how to help my beloved friend. Because of the holiday weekend, the local vet wouldn’t be open till Tuesday. My heart was breaking to see her in such pain and I regretted not helping her cross the Great Divide earlier. Surely if a vet had been readily available I would have helped her cross that bridge rather than watch her suffer. I wouldn’t have done this for myself but for my faithful companion, I called my chiropractor at his home on a Sunday. Much to my relief he agreed to come.
Upon Dr. Matt’s arrival I felt his energy of Loving Presence and watched as he administered to Margo as he eased her pain. Long after he was gone I could feel that Loving Presence every time I entered the room where he had been. This helped me make the shift from worry, concern and “fixing” Margo to being just a Loving Presence for her.
I decided to explore the essence of Loving Presence myself, allowing it to surround me, fill my aura and the entire atmosphere. Channeling this energy to Margo only filled me more. I realized with all my searching in life this Loving Presence contained all that I sought and all that I wanted to be.
The next six hours I sat with Margo in Loving Presence, honoring her for the wonderful being that she was and let her know I was ok with her staying or passing over. I rubbed her belly and talked to her, reliving how sweet our first meeting was, reminisced about our adventures and her shenanigans. This seemed to sooth her greatly. When I ran out of things to talk about, I read to her. Two o’clock in the afternoon Margo got up, walked outside and took another world record poop and rejoined the world in full fervor. Margo passed away a year later enjoying life to its fullest until the end. Thank you Margo for your loving presence and all your many teachings.
We all have access to this Loving Presence so I invite you to explore on your own what it feels like and what it can offer you, both in your everyday life as well as during times of overwhelment and upset. Take a few deep breaths and begin to ‘feel’ the space around you. Imagine it as fog or smoke and play with moving it around and guiding it with your thoughts and breath, allowing it to gently wrap around you imagining it holding you safe, warm and content. Regular practice will build a foundation of remembering when you need it the most.
