110. My Prancing Spiritual Director

Sparkles, the dog, died in February. Since then, I have been creatively and spiritually clogged up.  

I still have violent thoughts every time I see someone walking a dog. I want to scream out my window and remind them that their dog is gonna die someday. Yes, real mature. I realize this is a sign that I am still grieving.

And then a friends’ dog died. And there I go again feeling so bad for people who have chosen to bring a mammal into their life for an era of joy to then have to experience an era of heartbreak. As a born-again dog person, I am still questioning how this makes sense. Again, another sign that I have some healing to do.

In my grieving process, I have come to realize that I not only lost my first dog, but in a way, I lost my first spiritual director. Spiritual directors help us to explore and deepen our spiritual lives. They provide guidance and encouragement as we seek to better explore and understand our beliefs and apply these things to our wanderings on earth. Good spiritual directors listen well.

And while Sparkles never did ask me good questions or give me any verbal suggestions on how I might live a little differently, her mere presence was a suggestion. She was cheerful, attentive and very suggestive. She would wait for my footsteps to hit the ground every morning and would start a kind of “noisy prance” at my heals as I made coffee, went to the bathroom, found my headphones, found the fanny pack and the leash. This was her way of reminding me to get up, to get moving and to get on that prayer walk. Her behavior wasn't merely suggestive but rather prescriptive.

Cheers to prancing spiritual directors...