Our 5-year-old cat, Yoshi, was diagnosed with renal failure. The veterinarian claimed that there isn’t much he can do. Yoshi will probably only live a few more years and from time to time he will need to be put in the hospital for treatment. My wife asked the doctor about a holistic veterinarian and if there are any in the area. As it turns out they allow a holistic veterinarian to use their facilities on Fridays. So we scheduled an appointment.
In about 5 weeks of work, which by the way includes acupuncture, our cat, Yoshi, is like a new person. (I know, I know but he is a little person to us.) He loves going to Dr. Fox and during the usual hour-long appointment he just lays there and purrs. She actually communicates with him. For all you Cartesian rationalists out there I know it sounds strange but Dr. Fox gives us information that she could not have known. Little intricate details that we did not know until we get home and check it out. FOr instance Yoshi tell her there was a chip out of his food bowl and it was bothering him. Sure enough when we got home there was a chip out of his bowl.
Regardless, she told us Yoshi really loves the Christmas season. I told her that my mom and dad really worked hard to make the Christmas season special for my sister, brother and me. Now, when I think of the season it brings a tear to my eye because even as my parents grew older they would allow me to give them a special Christmas at our house. I really miss them.
Dr. Fox also recalled how her parents would go all out for Christmas but her father was very disciplined and would require the tinsel to be put on the tree perfectly. She was not that good at it so he would not let her put it on the tree. Because of that her Christmas memories are not as fond as mine.
However, I do remember when Christmas changed dramatically in my life. My dad decided to modernize Christmas and went out and purchased an aluminum tree with one of those multi-colored wheels that spun around over a floodlight. I was devastated that we did not have a real tree for the first time in my life. There was some retribution though. There was a little setscrew that held the plastic colored wheel in place over the floodlight. Once in awhile it would back out and the plastic wheel would begin to wobble. One day it backed out and the wheel began to wobble and instead of telling my dad (we were not allowed to touch it) my sister, brother and me watch this wheel wobble down on top of the flood light and melt. We waited until it melted entirely over the light until we called him. Wow was he mad that day at modern technology.
So what is the point of all this? My wife and I have always had a real tree. I will admit to being a little obsessive so I was uncomfortable at times with the dirt a real tree can create. Two years ago the tree we bought started losing its needles quickly and we had to take it down two weeks before Christmas. I used this as an excuse to talk my wife into an artificial tree and actually had her convinced that it was a really nice tree. That is until this past Friday when Dr. Fox said Yoshi wants us to get a real tree again. Furthermore he exclaimed that I don’t want a spruce tree I want a pine tree like three years ago because it smells so good. The thought of the smell of pine brought back so many wonderful memories. As I basked in this joyous feeling I suddenly remembered the dreaded curse of many of us suffering through a mid life crisis, I am just like my parents. Well that isn’t all bad, just sometimes, and like my father, I get off track and forget what is really important.
As an ontological coach and more important a human, I often fall into the drift of life and forget to take a moment to be thankful and grateful for the world around me. I get so caught up in the details of life I forget to look up and see the big picture. On Sunday our Pastor said we should be thankful for the coincidences in life because they probably aren’t as coincidental as we may think. Perhaps it is the time to look up and truly celebrate what Christmas is really about.
Jesus loves the little children of the world and he calls us to love one and other as well. I am thankful for a little child (albeit not necessarily a human one) breaking my drift and getting me to look back up to the stars once again. We will have a real tree this year and more importantly I will pledge to make people and gratitude my priority for the season and hopefully the year to come. Life transitions can begin in many ways and sometimes we are awakened to our habits and transparencies in life by the smallest of incidents. In this case it was kind of like coughing up a little human hairball.
By the way, those of you who receive a Christmas card from us may find some teeth marks in it. Yoshi had Dr. Fox tell us he wants to sign the cards this year as well.
Have a Wonderful and Blessed Holiday Season!
Robert
www.IntersectionsCoaching.com [http://www.IntersectionsCoaching.com]
Robert Wummer of [http://www.IntersectionsCoaching.com] is in the business of helping unleash the transformational power made available during life’s transitions and changes. As an ontological coach, he partners with individuals, leaders, and organizations to focus on purpose, gain perspective, and increase performance as well as creating new horizons of learning and building effective networks of conversation.
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