Your greatest test is when you are able to bless someone else while you are going through your own storm." - Devon Franklin Love is an investment...an investment of time and energy. When it comes to relationships, we must remember to love with purpose. A love with purpose is built on a foundation of respect and selflessness. To love with purpose is to support, cheer and accept unconditionally. On days when there is a million and one emotions going through your veins... anger, sadness, confused, frustrated, bitter, just to name a few, a love with purpose helps to ease the difficulty and heal the pain. We all have a choice. We can choose to live in happiness, sulk in sadness or engage in madness. Some days are brighter than others. The difference between myself and my blind dog is that I have the option of turning on or off the light (figuratively and literally). Hoshi can't. He lives in complete darkness all the time. But despite his inability to see, he adapts and explores the world using other senses. Just like us, dogs too have the capacity to feel joy, sadness, fear, anxiety...but for the most part, unless something triggers them to go haywall, they live in complete utter happiness. As I watch Hoshi walk around the lake, I am reminded that it is not about what happens to me, but rather how I choose to react. Without any hesitation, Hoshi moves forward, pacing himself to where he needs to be. He walks with confidence and follows through with his agenda. Hoshi does not let his blindness deter him from exploring. His primary focus is what is happening right now, spending quality time with myself and Zen. Everyday he continues to live and love with purpose. Zen is a beautiful example of what a love with purpose looks like. Zen was adopted in 2014 from a local shelter in Spokane, Washington. As healthy as he looked, he came with many medical issues, including an enlarged heart, pulmonary edema, and narrowed trachea. Despite the complications, he continues to live and love life to the fullest. Over the months after Zen's adoption, the health of Hoshi's eyes got worse. He was already blind in one eye and was going blind in the other. Hoshi suffered from severe glaucoma and was dealing with chronic infections and inflammation as a result of old age (Hoshi is now 13 years old). He was in a lot of pain. There were many times when I thought Hoshi was ready to cross the rainbow (for he had no energy and barely any appetite). He has been to the ER and has seen different vets. Hoshi was a healthy boy. His senior profile was impeccable...he passed with flying colors. There were no red flags found in his blood work, stool results, or physical findings. There was absolutely no reason to say good-bye. Putting him down was not an option. So we entrusted the advice of our family vet to do the enucleation surgery. Having Zen a part of Hoshi's recovery is truly a blessing. Little did I know the big role he would end up playing in Hoshi's life, especially during Hoshi's journey to recovery. Zen has enabled to Hoshi to experience and enjoy life. Hoshi has always been an active dog, so to have someone in his life who is as adventurous is truly a gift, for now he can continue exploring with his best friend. To love with purpose means to take care of each other. Zen's adoption was unrelated to Hoshi's surgery. The months following Zen's adoption, Hoshi's eyes started to get worse and worse. When I chose to adopt, it was not for the purpose of finding a guide dog for Hoshi but rather a life-long partner. Zen became Hoshi's best friend, partner in crime, soulmate and vice versa. I never saw Zen as the guide dog; I considered him as Hoshi's guiding light to help navigate Hoshi in the dark, because all Hoshi sees now is darkness. I believe everything happens for a reason for they both come into each other's lives at the right time...at the time of when the condition of Hoshi's eyes was getting worse and at the time when Zen was left abandoned. Through their own storm, they blessed each other in the form of love. They cultivated a brotherly bond within their friendship. Hoshi trusts Zen and Zen protects Hoshi. They have faith in one another and they both love each other with purpose, on purpose.
1 Comment
Elaine C.
9/26/2017 01:46:52 am
Such a beautiful piece.❤️
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