Our dog Oscar died this week. It’s a weird thing to hear myself say, because it’s true, and the truth of it is a thing that feels surreal after him being a constant part of our lives for almost 13 years. I’m not much of an animal lover, but in a very real, very nature-is-funny kind of way, Oscar treated me like I was his master. I always assumed that it was some instinctual sense that I was the alpha of the pack, being the biggest and the loudest as I am. He had a special sort of deference to me, even though I was often cranky with him for barking like a maniac at everyone who got near the house or chasing cars or shredding poopy baby diapers under my bed or always managing to get underfoot and trip me while I was carrying something. Later, as he got older and less capable, he would whine on the hardwood stairs after I was in bed, even though he’d made it 99% of the way up, because he was afraid he was going to slip and fall. Or he’d growl at me every time I walked into the kitchen, as though I somehow knew what that meant, even though nothing I did ever seemed to be the thing he was asking for. And I’d cuss him out for being so annoying and my wife would scold me for being a jerk (she was right) and he’d still be right back at my feet the next time I went to my desk like we were the best of friends.
Beautiful meditation. I agree that one of the hardest things about grief is that we get over it and move on. It can seem like a betrayal of the deceased. On the other hand, if we truly loved the person, or pet, do we really ever get over their death? We learn to cope, to smile again and to get on with our lives, but doesn't some corner of our heart continue to ache for them? My dad has been dead for 36 years and my mom for 5, I still think about them everyday. I continue to recall good times with friends who are now deceased and smile whenever I think of our pet dog Shaker who's been gone for decades.
Saint Isaac the Syrian wrote that if we are filled with God's love then we care about every human being, the birds and beast and "even" the reptiles. Indeed, he thought we would have charity for the demons. Saint Isaac saw this as an ideal for the human heart. Maybe you're closer than you think.
"Many who God has the Church does not have, and many who the Church has God does not have."
Love you, bro.
F*$# you & God bless
Fjk and Marius the dog
Beautiful meditation. I agree that one of the hardest things about grief is that we get over it and move on. It can seem like a betrayal of the deceased. On the other hand, if we truly loved the person, or pet, do we really ever get over their death? We learn to cope, to smile again and to get on with our lives, but doesn't some corner of our heart continue to ache for them? My dad has been dead for 36 years and my mom for 5, I still think about them everyday. I continue to recall good times with friends who are now deceased and smile whenever I think of our pet dog Shaker who's been gone for decades.
Saint Isaac the Syrian wrote that if we are filled with God's love then we care about every human being, the birds and beast and "even" the reptiles. Indeed, he thought we would have charity for the demons. Saint Isaac saw this as an ideal for the human heart. Maybe you're closer than you think.
"Many who God has the Church does not have, and many who the Church has God does not have."