04/04/2025
The Gift of Animals
I have the privilege of seeing my team do their magic everyday. Sometimes in unexpected ways. A men's group of 18 came to THE BARN. The men were standing in two lines of nine, six feet apart. I was standing in the middle of the two lines, greeting the group, when Splashy, the mom of the herd, came and stood beside me. When I finished the introduction, Splashy went to one of the men, stood touching him on his chest for a full minute, then walked away.
Later, in another task, the men were all in a circle around Annie. They each took turns walking in, putting a hand on Annie and saying what they valued most in life. When the same man Slashy had touched put his hand on Annie and said his family was most important to him, Annie swished her tail vigorously and shook her head. This didn't happen for any of the others. When the task was over, I pulled him aside and asked if he knew what all this was about. He broke into tears and said he knew exactly. He said when he was serving a mission for his church as a young man, both his parents died. He stayed on his mission, after the funerals. But in doing so, he never grieved. He said Splashy was touching his heart, telling him he was still suffering and he needed to do his grief work. He said Annie was upset when he said his family was most important to him, because while true in feelings, it wasn't true in actions. He said he buried himself in his work to avoid his grief for his parents. He said Annie and Splashy were telling him to get it done so he could open his heart to his family.
