Ripples

If you've read my profile, you would know that my favorite movie was Avatar. I loved everything about it, so I was bummed when it didn't win for Best Picture at the Oscars. Many people I spoke with about the movie said that it was a simple story that was unoriginal. Yeah? Well, it was still awesome! Its simplicity just made it easier to relay its message, AND it was the message that I loved so much. So, I was happy that it made megabucks at the box office because it's indicative of people being open to its message which was about interconnectedness.

One is affected by the other and therefore an action taken by one will have an impact on the other whether good or bad. It's like the ripple effect when you throw a pebble on a body of water, and you see the ripples of the water pulsating outward from where the pebble landed. Many individuals don't believe that their actions and/or thoughts necessarily affect a large number of people which is one reason people do not vote in the U.S. They don't believe it would make a difference. But each vote counts just as one action or thought can make a difference because the energy behind that one action or thought reverberates.

I loved the line in the movie, "I see you." The main characters of Avatar said it to each other at the end of the movie. My understanding of these three little words is that the characters see the essence of each other, acknowledging and respecting their own individuality but also knowing that there is a connection between them. It is that connection, an energetic or vibrational link, that exist in everything living which unifies us.

It seems to me that a growing number of people are looking for that connection with others and the environment in which they live. Many more people seem to be aware and concern about our affects on the earth, i.e. global warming. I believe this is the reason Facebook is so popular. It connects you with people with whom you may have lost contact. Although, I notice also that there are some "friends" who connect with you and then never hear from again after you've accepted them as a "friend." It is almost as if some people are trying to get as many "friends" as possible for their own ego rather than sincerely connecting with each friend, which would take a lot of time if you truly had over one hundred close friends. Perhaps, these individuals, who we never hear from again after accepting them as a "friend", are not ready to connect on any level other than an electronic one which Facebook or Myspace is. However, whatever reason they may have had to connect, the desire to connect was still there nonetheless.

Taking a microcosm of this idea of interconnectedness, I thought about the human body. Every cell in the human body has a consciousness whether you believe it or not. A cluster of cells is a tissue, a group of tissue is an organ and so on and so forth, finally comprising of the entire human body. As a comparison, you may consider a cell as an individual, a tissue as a family, and an organ as a group of families forming a society and so forth. Therefore, looking at all the individual cells of the human body, you may compare it to the population of people living in our planet. Respectively, the human body is similar to earth which sustains the people.

In Chinese Medicine, there is a life force or energy called "qi" that is ubiquitous in the body. Without "qi", there can be no body because it gives life to every cell in our body as it propels the blood to move, and blood contains the nutrients and oxygen which feeds the cells just as there can be no earth without the energetic force that maintains and sustains it.

How does a dog come into this topic? Most people consider their dog as part of the family. I certainly do. I consider each of my dogs as an individual. So, if something were to happen to one of them, it would naturally affect our family unit. I remember a few years ago on a Sunday morning. I had let the dogs out in the back yard because Morpheus and Elektra were barking at something to which I didn't pay attention, mostly because I was still half asleep. A few minutes later, I heard the sound of a cat fighting. I immediately ran outside to find a fairly big cat attached to Morpheus' face and chest. Morpheus was trying to pry off the cat whose claws were securely fastened on the sides of his face and chest. I screamed, "Away," at Morpheus who quickly stopped struggling with the cat and looked at me, which caused the cat to let go of him and hurriedly ran away.

Needless to say, Morpheus was injured. He had open wounds that were bleeding on his face and chest where the cat's claws were anchored during their fight. As Morpheus walked towards me, I noticed a limp in one of his forelimbs. Looking at Morpheus, I instantly panicked. Should I take him to the emergency? Fortunately, my fear and indecision only lasted a few seconds because soon after that I knew what I needed to do.

After helping him on our bed, I asked Augustine to wipe down his open wounds with hydrogen peroxide as I retrieved my cold laser and a pack of needles. The cold laser not only helps bring down pain and inflammation but it helps repair and heal open wounds. So, I was grateful to have it. I gave Morpheus an acupuncture treatment to calm him down since I could tell he was still frazzled from the fight as well as treated his elbow of the forelimb that limped. After his acupuncture treatment, I gave him an herbal antibiotic to prevent any infection from the open wound. I always have a bottle of the herbal antibiotic in my pantry just because it had come in handy in the past. As Morpheus rested, I wrapped his injured elbow to immobilize it. In the evening, I iced his elbow just in case.

Since I didn't want Morpheus jumping on and off the bed, I had Augustine put the mattress from our guest bedroom on our living room floor. That night, we all slept in the living room. Even though Morpheus was almost back to normal the next day, we didn't walk the dogs. I supposed we could have walked Ripley and Elektra but we didn't want Morpheus to feel left out. Being a sensitive boy, he would get a little depressed. Ripley and Elektra didn't seem to mind not being walked. They seemed to understand especially after I explained to them the reason. We actually started walking the dogs four days after Morpheus' injury because he didn't exhibit a hint of discomfort or limping. Of course, it was a slower and shortened walk. However, we continued to sleep in the living room for over a week to make sure that Morpheus didn't do any jumping. It wasn't very comfortable because Augustine and I were cramped with the three dogs on a queen size mattress. But we tolerated it for Morpheus' sake. Also, during the week, Morpheus got acupuncture treatment almost everyday. He was a happy boy because of it.

Because of Morpheus' injury, we were all affected by it in some degree. We had to change our normal routine to accommodate Morpheus. As a family unit, we are interconnected and therefore affect each other, whether it's due to a physical condition that limits either one of us or an emotional state that causes stress. The affect on Augustine or I can consequently influence our behavior with people outside our family unit just because of our interaction with others. And, those others may affect many more and so forth. The affect may be slight and subtle or profound and apparent. Regardless, there is an affect. Thus, depending on our physical, emotional or mental state, we can cause an energetic wave rippling across whether we are conscious of it or not. Most people are not aware of it. But we are all linked vibrationally.

Going back to the words "I see you," it's so much easier to say these words to my dogs and feel the meaning behind them than to say them to people. I don't know if you feel the same way or can relate to this, but when I talk to my dogs, and not necessarily saying these three little words to them, but just having a conversation with them, they are not dogs to me. I feel as if I am conversing with a consciousness that is unconditional love and happiness to which is what I am connected. I respect and acknowledge who they are as individuals but I know that we are part of each other, and this is why I feel their limitations when they are experiencing one and vice versa. We all have this unconditional love and happiness within us. We are just distracted. We have allowed our daily routines to takeover our consciousness making it difficult for us to "see" each other as we truly are.

Love your dog. If you don't have one, adopt or save one. Then, think about all those people in your lives that you influence in one way or another. Yes, some of us are aware of how our actions and thoughts can affect our dog and vice versa. But we are less inclined to be conscious of them with the people around us. As I said, every living thing is interconnected. A diseased liver can affect other organs in the body and thereby weaken the entire body just as the contaminated Gulf of Mexico is affecting not only its sea life but also human lives whose livelihood has been lost. Certainly, other ramifications will emerge showing the affects of the oil spillage on other living things and elements of our earth. And, I am sure that the lack of foresight to have any safety back up plan that would have prevented the damage that continues to occur in the Gulf started with one person's thought who influenced others to think the same way. Let us be mindful of our thoughts and actions with ourselves, our family unit and outside of the unit because we do create energetic ripples that will affect everyone eventually.

Thank you for visiting my now biweekly blog. The managing of work, personal and home life with all of my wonderful activities made me realize that a biweekly blog is more realistic for now. Any comments is truly welcomed.