Seuss, is one of my teachers.
He is also a Tuxedo cat with more than a little Siamese in him.
He’s a talker, and loves to vocalize,
especially in places where he can create an echo effect and magnify his voice.
He’s playful and affectionate.
He is also finicky, stubborn and a bit of a drama king.
And most of all, he is a teacher for me,
if I let him… or more accurately... if I allow the message in!
If you’re Facebook friends with me, you may have seen my posts about Seuss and his medical issues over the past couple of years.
He has a thyroid tumor and hyperthyroidism. If he doesn’t eat enough his weight drops dangerously.
And as any concerned mom would be, I try everything imaginable to coax him to eat.
He enjoys the attention more than the food.
Last year I wrote a post about one of his wonderful (and painful) lessons for me: What My Cat, Seuss, Taught Me about Free Will and Trying to “Fix It”
Now I’m writing about another lesson he is teaching my husband and me:
appreciating what you have and wanting something better.
And the shadow side of both of those:
not appreciating or wanting what you have
and settling for what you don’t want.
Yes, another powerful lesson brought to me by a cat!
This particular classroom is the kitchen, although some aspects of his teaching take place throughout the house.
Instead of a blackboard, he uses bowls of food to give instructional examples.
And like any challenging or difficult teacher,
Seuss can be demanding and annoying and frustrating.
And if you can get past that wall of emotions, underneath he is wanting to be loved and feel better and really hoping we understand some of what he’s trying to teach us about ourselves.
Did you know that the animals that share your life
are mirrors for you too?
Just like the people in your life, your animal companions are showing you something about yourself: beliefs, fears, patterns, feelings, thoughts, and programming.
I
n addition to appreciating what you have and not settling, Seuss is teaching me and Steve to love him in spite of his moodiness, his nagging, his whining...
... and his annoying habit of turning his nose up at the high quality food we give him...
and walking away.
Seuss is teaching us to find compassion for him in his pain and his desire to be loved.
To love the bits that we don’t find cute and appealing as much as we love his adorable traits.
He tests our patience (especially mine!) and shows me where I am out of alignment with love within myself.
And as a mirror for us, he pokes us in places where we still have wounds or issues or pain around self-love and self-acceptance so that we may not only come to him from a place of love but treat ourselves with the same love and compassion.
As someone who has had a lifelong (or even lifetimes) habit of being hard on myself, I realize that Seuss had to go to this extreme to get his point across.
And it is not lost on me that he has a thyroid tumor. Thyroid is 5th chakra.
Throat chakra.
Self-expression.
Speaking your truth fearlessly.
I get it.
So thank you Seuss for being such a wonderful teacher. I love you.
Yes, you can really piss me off at times.
And yet, I still love you.
Seuss’s Lessons are Universal
I
f you have animal companions, you probably have your own teachers holding up the mirror for you.
That being said, I think Seuss’s message has universal applications.
So, where might Seuss be an example for you too?
Where in your life are you settling, when you really want something different, more, better?
Work?
Relationships?
Your home life?
Other?
Do you appreciate what you have?
Do you ever take a moment to just take in all that you have, all that you’ve done, all that you are and really breathe that in, acknowledge it, give thanks for it?
If so, great!
If not, what the heck are you waiting for?
Do you treat annoyances with attitude, anger or more annoyance?
Are you open to trying to come from a place of love and see the situation or person from a place of love?
When people are in pain – emotional, physical, spiritual – they lash out.
When we react, we meet that energy with like energy, which fans the flames and builds the negative response.
What would happen if instead of reacting unconsciously we choose to pause and realize that this person is in pain?
What would happen if you decided "how can I send love to this person"?
I’m not saying this is going to be easy.
Sometimes it is so hard… and that just means that we are attached to something.
So if you can shift perspective to:
“What might this really be about?"
"What might this be trying to show me?”
You may be surprised at what you discover.
If you are anything like me, the person you get the most annoyed with is yourself.
So here’s my challenge to you…
Are YOU ready to treat Yourself with gentleness, kindness, love and compassion?
C’mon… give it a try!
It will rock your world
and bring a smile to your face.
Holding space for you to do this for yourself.
Love & Blessings to you,
Karen