I recently bought a new blush. Suddenly I understood why I hadn't gotten a new job yet. I had been wearing the wrong blush all winter! But now, the makeup artist had put me back on track.... People are great believers. They want to believe whether it is in religion or the power of a new blush. When my father died we had a dog named Rudy. Really, Rudy had been my dad's dog and they were both devoted to each other. Rudy was always a magical dog able to leap high buildings (or at least bound three feet in the air from a standing four-footed position), solve intricate problems (after all, he was a Terrier) and sing. Since our faith in doctors had been broken, we recorded Rudy singing and played it for my dad in the hospital thinking surely that would reach him in his semi-conscious state. It did not.
My dad died and Rudy mourned with us. Then a kind of weird thing happened. Some of that love for our dad got transferred to Rudy. We felt a special attachment to him just because he had been dad’s dog. And, of course, we often thought it was Rudy's companionship that enabled my mom to go on and for that alone we loved him more. But here's the thing. Rudy spent a lot of time at my house, often on extended visits when my mom would go off to visit my sister. And more and more, I started to think that my dad's spirit had taken a stopover on its way to the heavens IN Rudy. It seemed to me the dog was acting more and more like my father. If he had picked up a hammer and starting building something it wouldn't have surprised me in the least bit.
At night, Rudy would climb onto the foot of the bed. In the morning, I'd open my eyes to find Rudy's head on the pillow next to mine. He'd open his eyes and look at me and yes, I just knew that was my dad looking at me through his eyes. Sometimes I'd whisper "dad" and wait to see what would happen. I was looking for more of a confirmation that he was there, but in a way I didn't need more of a confirmation. I just believed he was. And so Rudy, dad and I continued along for a number of years. People, as I said, have an amazing power to believe.
Though we have been battered by storms lately, spring is definitely in the air. You can smell it. You can hear it. Daylight is returning. It won’t be long before the peepers in our pond find their voice now hidden beneath the ice. With our amazing power to believe, we will dust ourselves off after this long winter of so much discontent and rush outside to marvel, as always, at the first snowdrop.
It's important to believe...
Kind (self) regards,
Vicki
Vicki Wray lives in North Stamford, and until recently spent most of her waking hours in New York City as a corporate communications executive. Working for companies like Pfizer, Revlon and AOL Time Warner has allowed her to meet wonderful colleagues and a slew of interesting personalities including the president of the United States, supermodels and star athletes, famous artists and a Justice of the Supreme Court. She is a natural observer, type A personality, and a life-long "spa junkie". Vicki firmly believes in the health benefits of being kind to oneself; taking a moment to breath, relax and finding simple joy in our every day existence.
Her column, Kind (self) Regards, will be a regular feature of the Aetheria Spa blog. If you enjoy her point of view, or would like to share your ideas, please contact her at vicki@aetheriaspa.com.
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