on animal wisdom, healing, and resilience

by | Aug 12, 2022

staccato the cat

Staccato, quite possibly the sweetest and gentlest creature I have ever known, is no longer able to roam free outdoors as he did for the first thirteen years of his life, due to serious health challenges involving his kidneys and heart. It was difficult and he was at first afraid and resistant, but he has adapted to walking outdoors on a harness with me tagging along behind. It means he can’t crawl into all his favorite small spaces, under shrubs and hedges. But he can touch the earth and breath in the wind, and today he walked straight to a patch of ground where the plant, Self Heal, has been growing prolifically for the past year. He sighed deeply and settled down into it, rubbing his face against the plant.

I sat down next to him and quietly observed his deep sighs, taking in the exquisite relationship between animal and plant, in awe of his seemingly innate wisdom to seek healing from earth. The animals are so wise, and so resilient.