Having to close my practice last year was very hard to bear. But now that I'm over the worst of the disappointment, and I've realised that there IS no walking away from one's purpose, I feel strangely liberated. Because if there's no way I can succeed by doing everything the "right" way - the way conventional wisdom says it should be done - then I'm free to try it another way.
Here's the way I'm doing it now - after having taken more lessons from my dog:
- when there is something that needs to be done, then do it
- throw yourself into it with total enthusiasm and absorption; give it your all
- and then when the job is done, stop; go rest - or play
- as much as possible, combine work and play, so that the work is enjoyable and the play is both fun and useful
In other words, blur the lines between work and play. That way, work ceases to be a chore, we can fit more play into our days, and our play contributes more to our health and well-being. When we get it right, we can end up spending an entire day in enjoyable endeavour (combined, of course, with plenty of rest :-). That's my aspiration every day now, thanks to Ms. Lilly's unstinting instruction.
Play is very important to animals. Have you noticed? And doesn't it stop you in your tracks when you see a mature and ordinarily "sensible" animal gambolling about like a little kid? Doesn't that make you laugh with delight! It does me.
It delights me both personally and professionally. That's because play is an important indicator that health and well-being are being restored to a chronically unhealthy or depleted system. I've taken to calling it the play index. It might just as well be called the quality-of-life index (as others do), but as return of play is one of the most unique milestones in the return to health and well-being, I like to make play the sentinel event.
Particularly in senior animals, I'm especially glad to see them begin to play again after what might have been years. It's a very good sign, and it means we've managed to turn back the clock a bit on what was seemingly an inexorable decline.
However you can contrive to do it, give your animals ample opportunity - both space and time - to romp and play every day. With pets such as dogs and cats, the quality of their play is often enhanced by you joining in. I can make Ms. Lilly's whole head crack open in a wide, tongue-lolling grin just by joining her in one of her goofy games. We both end up on the ground laughing at our shared silliness. I don't know of any medications - natural or otherwise - that do quite as much good for body and soul as a fun game played together.
Horses usually enjoy playing with one another or with another animal they especially like. I'm not inclined to encourage humans to play with their horses unless each thoroughly understands the species differences of the other. "Equal but different" is the catch-phrase of importance here. Horses and humans have different perspectives on life, different responses, and certainly different physicality. Unless both horse and human have made concerted efforts to understand the other and are careful to accommodate the differences in one's playmate, play can be hazzardous to one's health and to the relationship. So, by all means encourage your horses to play, but play advisedly if you're joining in.
Just a final thought before closing this post. I really like adaptogenic herbs for improving health and well-being in working animals, seniors, and others dealing with chronic stress or illness. A few months ago I wrote a pair of articles on adaptogens in dogs - one on working dogs, the other on senior dogs - that are archived on my web site. The one about seniors includes a short section at the end on quality of life and play. Take a look if you're interested (those links are live). The same information applies to horses and other animals as well (including cats, but with all the usual caveats about palatability and the inadvisability of wrestling medications into unwilling cats... :-).
Enjoy!
-Dr. Chris King-
Nature's Apprentice
www.animavet.com
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