The Power of Love

You are the creator of your own reality. You are the God that is creator of worlds. Don't be humble and make yourself apart from that. Embrace it and accept it, and ride that wave. – Abraham-Hicks

I'm beginning this book with a few stories about animals because they are such great teachers of the power of Love. Through their devotion, affection, guidance and protection, our relationships with animals teach us about forgiveness, unconditional Love, intuition, grace, courage, compassion, and to value the God within all life. Our Love for them inspires us to be better at being human. For some of us, there may have been times when the love of an animal was the only thing that gave our life meaning and purpose. The Love that we came from is The Most Powerful Energy there is, and when we Love, we align with that power and anything is possible. Not everything can be explained using logic or science, at least not yet, but Love is always the best explanation anyway.

Riding the Wave for Love

My beautiful Springer Spaniel, Maxi, and I had an amazing heart and soul connection. There were many times when it was clear she could read my mind. There were also many times in her sixteen years with me when she literally saved my life. The first time I realized her heroic heart was when she was just six months old and I was barely fifteen. The ocean was still too cold for swimming, so on our way to the beach I stopped by the pool at the hotel where my father worked and tied Maxi's leash to one of the umbrella tables while I took a quick dip. I'm not a strong swimmer. I can mostly 'dog-paddle' my way from one end of a pool to the other, but even that is challenging for me, and Maxi knew that. That day I was practicing swimming underwater from one end of the pool to the other when I felt myself being abruptly pulled in the opposite direction. I quickly rose to the surface to find that Maxi had pulled the entire table, umbrella and all, into the pool with her! She had my ponytail in her mouth and was trying to pull me to safety towards the edge of the pool while she was still tied to the table. It was all she could do to keep her own head above the water! I quickly unhooked her from her leash and got us both out of the pool. Realizing there was no way I could get the umbrella table out of the pool by myself and afraid of my father's temper when he discovered it, we ran to the beach, leaving the table and umbrella, with Maxi's leash still attached, in the middle of the pool.

Maxi loved going to the beach as much as I did. She would often chase the birds, but never at full speed. She just liked teasing them so she could watch them fly away. She loved and protected every living thing. She would lay completely still with her head flat against the sand watching the baby sea turtles hatch and scurry towards the ocean, and if any sea birds came near them before they reached the surf, she would chase the birds away.

One beautiful summer day I bought a two-dollar air mattress at the hotel gift shop on our way to the beach. Several of the boys I knew from school who surfed were out on the water and the dolphins had formed a protective border behind them, as they often did to keep the sharks away. Usually the only time the waves were decent enough for surfing was just before a hurricane, but this was a perfectly warm and sunny summer afternoon. Maxi had worn herself out fetching the Frisbee and chasing birds, so she was content to lie on the towel while I took the air mattress out. But she never took her eyes off me whenever I was in the water.

I realized I had fallen asleep only because I woke with a start, as if someone had shaken me. Panic struck when I saw how far I had drifted away from shore! The sky darkened with huge, angry clouds and the formerly gentle breeze had become wickedly high winds. It was only then I remembered that a hurricane was reported the day before, further down the coast! I looked towards the beach and saw Maxi frantically running back and forth while looking straight at me. I could see that she was barking but I could barely hear her. She looked so tiny from where I was! I was afraid she would try to get to me and I knew she'd never make it. She was too far away to hear me so I told her in my mind, Stay and wait for me, girl. I'll be right there. She immediately sat down and watched.

My heart sank when I saw the boys who'd been surfing running up the beach towards the hotel with their surfboards under their arms. I was out there all by myself! I looked behind me and saw a huge wave heading right for me. I knew if it came down on top of me I would be pushed and tumbled down into the deep water. I also knew I wasn't a strong enough swimmer to make it back up alive. I had only one choice: I straddled the air mattress with my back to the wave, pulled the front end up towards me, and held on with all my might! I closed my eyes, and in my mind, I told the wave, Please carry me all the way to the beach and set me down on my feet, as I pictured exactly where and how I would land. Instead of coming down on top of me, the wave came up underneath me, and as I rode it, I realized I was at the same level as the second story of the hotel. The wave carried me all the way to the beach and set me down, just as I'd instructed and imagined ... on my feet. Just then the wind ripped the air mattress out of my hands and took it to God only knows where. Maxi and I ran up the hill towards the hotel as torrential rain pelted us and thunder and lightning crashed all around us. One of the surfers was waiting at the stairs for us and we ran to the hotel together. When we were all safely under shelter of the hotel carport, he said, "I was sure you were gonna die out there! How did you do that?" All I could tell him was, "Maxi needed me to come back to her!"

* * *

I've thought about that experience at least a thousand times since then and to this day I still shudder when I think about how I could've easily been swallowed up by the ocean. Even if I had managed to come back up to the surface if that wave came over me, I was too far away from shore to survive in such rough water. I knew Maxi would try to get to me and I also knew she would drown if she had. It isn't logical that someone who could barely swim could ride a twenty-foot wave on a two-dollar air mattress in a hurricane and be set onto shore on their feet. Logic would say there's no way my dog could read my mind when I told her to wait, that I'd be right there, but she did. She 'heard' me and sat down and waited, keeping her eyes locked on me. Logic wasn't a part of any of it.

There have been many times in my life since then that I've had to 'ride the wave' all the way to what I wanted, despite logic and some scary appearances. We are so much more powerful than we realize when we choose Love over fear. When there's only one option we're willing to accept and it comes from pure Love, all we need to do is decide what we want, keep our eyes solely on the outcome we desire, surrender to the powers that be to make it so and then just 'ride the wave all the way to shore'. It's about much more than faith or trust; it's about Love. We must choose what we desire with Love, know that it is done, and then just allow it to happen!

Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love. The real miracle is the love that inspires them. In this sense, everything that comes from love is a miracle. - Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love

The Canary and the Butterfly

One of the young men I worked with found a litter of kittens that couldn't have been more than a few weeks old. The mother never appeared so he brought them to work hoping to find homes for them. The tiniest one in the box was the only one to stretch himself up as far as he could possibly reach to greet me, as if he chose me, and I couldn't resist him. I hid him in my desk drawer with a bowl of milk that day until my boss discovered him and let me go home early so I could take care of him. I named him Chan because he had thick eyeliner-like markings that reminded me of the fictional character, Charlie Chan, in an old movie I saw once from the 1920's.

When I got home, Maxi, who as I mentioned earlier, loved every living thing, could hardly wait to meet the new little being she smelled. However, Chan was instantly terrified and made a colossal leap from the box in my arms where I stood at the front door, straight up to the second-floor landing of the staircase. With every hair on his tiny body standing straight up, he frantically hissed and yowled his way upstairs and hid under my mother's bed. My mother scolded me for bringing home a cat, insisting that cats and dogs were mortal enemies and that I should bring him back where he came from the next day. She kept the kitten in her room that night with the door closed while Maxi slept with me. The next morning, I woke to find my mother's bedroom door open and the kitten curled up underneath Maxi's chin, sound asleep. They were inseparable best friends from then on.

Maxi taught him everything she knew about the proper way to behave; to do his business outside, come when called, even how to fetch, sit, and be a great protector. Even though he was the runt of the litter, he quickly grew to be far bigger than any other cat I had ever seen before; twenty-six pounds of solid muscle! He was territorial of our yard and the neighborhood and got into far too many fights with other cats who dared to trespass. He seemed to thoroughly enjoy taunting the three big dogs who lived next door by occasionally walking atop the length of the wooden fence between our yards as all three of them jumped and snapped at him with their teeth just inches from his feet! He was a tough, cocky Tom-cat, but he also had a soft heart. I once saw him race up to a kitten that happened to be walking by our house on the sidewalk, but instead of attacking him for trespassing like he had every other cat, he escorted the kitten all around the neighborhood for nearly an hour, as though he knew the kitten was too young to be wandering around alone. I watched in awe as he showed his little protégé how to cross the street safely and which homes to stay away from because they had mean dogs. Afterwards, they returned to the exact spot where they first met, did a little nose-to-nose 'good-bye' and went their separate ways.

My mother had a beautiful yellow canary whose cage sat on top of a metal spiral staircase-shaped shelf about five feet tall. Never having had a cat before, it never occurred to either of us that Chan would climb the shelf and knock down the cage, but that's apparently what happened. My mother came home one day to find her beloved canary in pieces on the floor. This was to be Chan's most unforgivable act. From that day on, she refused to pet him or even look at him.

Several years later when I was living on my own, I had to go out of town on business for a week, so I asked my mother to come stay in my house to take care of my animals while I was gone. I was a little worried that she wouldn't tend to Chan, as she still hated him to his core, but there was no one else I could ask at the time. She promised she would at least feed him. I trusted Maxi to be enough company for him.

I never expected the incredible sight I came home to a week later. My mother was sitting on the couch with Chan in her lap, petting him! When I asked how this came about she said, "He knew how I felt about him so he stayed away from me most of the time you were gone, but yesterday he came in from outside and laid a beautiful yellow butterfly at my feet and just sat there looking at me straight in the eye. The butterfly was completely unharmed! I very carefully took the butterfly outside and together we watched it fly away. I think he was trying to replace my canary! How could I not forgive him after that? For him to remember, after all this time ... I just know he was trying to make it up to me!"

I have no doubt that's exactly what Chan intended. Animals understand far more than we give them credit for, and given the chance, they can even move an unforgiving heart towards love. All that God created came from the same Loving Source as you and I. Why then, should we be surprised when we witness a loving act from an animal? A little attention and willingness to understand them is all it takes to make that sacred connection, and we are always changed for the better.

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.

– Anatole France

The Exacto Knife and Love

I was in my early twenties when I came home one day to find that my boyfriend of several years had moved out, leaving behind a few bare necessities and his dog. There had been no arguments or discord for quite a while. In fact, I thought we'd been getting along better than ever lately. I moved through life in a daze for weeks, barely eating, feeling confused and lost. I didn't call any of my friends for comfort, as none of them could stand him. I knew they'd be thrilled with the news and I wasn't yet ready for that. I had my dogs and my cat to take care of and they were my comforters.

Melody was supposed to be his dog, but I was happy that he left her with me. Princess was her daughter, the last one born of a litter of thirteen. Melody didn't seem to know what was happening to her while giving birth to them in our bedroom. Maxi stepped in as midwife and cleaned up the first several and nudged the newborns close to Melody to nurse until she eventually got the idea, but when little Princess arrived, Melody was too exhausted to clean her quickly enough and wouldn't let Maxi do it. The tiny pup lay there not moving or breathing as Maxi and I looked at each other, feeling helpless. I picked up the lifeless pup and gently rubbed her, praying and begging her to breathe for what felt like forever until she finally took that first huge, labored breath. All the other puppies were easily adopted when it was time, but no one wanted our skittish little Princess. I suspect her scary beginning was what made her so afraid of everything. She knew she was safe with us so we kept her.

These precious animals were my family and I would do anything for them. I worked three jobs so I could keep my house because it had a big fenced yard where they could run around safely. On top of feeling unlovable and worthless, within a month I was completely worn down mentally and emotionally, as well as physically. One day while searching through the junk drawer in the kitchen for a scissor, I came across an Exacto knife. The blade was still up, reminding me how much it aggravated me that what's-his-name never would put it back down into its case. I picked it up and looked at the blade. Without any real emotion one way or the other, I held it over my wrist and thought, I wonder if you're supposed to slice across the wrist, or lengthwise. Have you ever found yourself turning around without knowing why, only to find someone staring at you? I turned around and there, sitting in a straight row right behind me, were my three dogs and my cat, all eight eyes locked on me. My very next thought was, What would happen to them? No one would love them like I do. I have to stay. I put the knife back in the drawer and never had that thought again. Sometimes Love is the only thing that keeps us here until we find our balance again.

* * *

We can't see Love; we can only feel it or witness evidence and examples of it in action. It's the same with thought and emotion; it's all just invisible energy. Scientists tell us that energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be transmitted or transformed. Love is an energetic connection between us and those we love, and when we sense something is 'off' with someone we love, as my animals did that day, we feel it. Animals don't question their sixth sense like we tend to. Many of us have had moments when we felt something was wrong with someone we love even though they were thousands of miles away. Take time to ponder that for a while! It's amazing, isn't it? If you ever get that feeling, know that it happened for good reason. Stop what you're doing right then and say a prayer of healing and protection for them and then be there with them somehow, either by phone or in person if possible. You were meant to hold them up in Love in that moment, even if only in your mind and heart.