It’s just another story … nothing too serious.
I entered vet school in 1993.
In hindsight, maybe I shouldn’t have … but in hindsight, I also learned that experience makes us wiser, that life is complex, and that often – especially when we are young – we have no way of understanding the deeper motivations of the choices we make.
I was an average student at school, and the one thing that vet school taught me about myself is that I have a high level of intuitive intelligence. I didn’t need to work that hard to graduate.
And while that sounds nice as such, it threw me into the life of being a practicing veterinarian with rather less practical experience than I might have gleaned if I had to work hard for it.
My first few years of being a veterinarian were terrifying.
I was constantly worried about making mistakes, not knowing enough, and being faced with an emergency by myself without backup. When confiding to my mentors they assured me that this was ‘normal’ and would get better with experience.
Which – of course – it did.
In the first few years, I changed a lot. I also changed jobs, countries, and how to practice medicine. I studied veterinary homeopathy and this started to fuel my interest in human as well as animal personality profiles and the workings of the human mind.
Ask for Help and Accept It
The biggest thing I learned in those years is how to ask for help and to accept it. None of that help came from within the profession. Looking back, and looking at the profession of veterinary medicine now, there’s a general consensus that it’s stressful and could be better, and there’s very little understanding of how that could work. It became clear to me then – as it is now – that expecting the profession to change so that I could be comfortable was not going to happen.
The change I needed had to come from myself.
“Suffering wakes you up.”
Eckhart Tolle
As I was suffering, I learned to question my priorities, my choices, and my motivations.
Over the years I started to meditate daily, practice yoga, exercise, and inquire into my belief systems.
I dropped cigarettes, coffee, alcohol, and drugs.
I married and had kids.
I run my own business.
I love traveling.
I live an ordinary life.
In comparison to other ordinary lives, I think that mine is joyful and simple.
I have time.
I make decisions that serve me.
I feel at home in my body, and safe in the world.
There is little that people can do that upsets me, and if it does, I know how to inquire into what I think.
I welcome challenges. I have dreams. I evolve and grow.
As I continue to question what I believe to be real, my mind opens and my heart opens. In my clearer moments, I am as one with all of creation. In that state of mind, I have access to the understanding that the universe is perfect, and that everything I could believe onto it to the contrary is nothing but a thought. Free from needing to control the world I have the energy to be of service, express my love, and enjoy my life.
And it still continues to get better.
I love working with animals and with people.
The veterinary profession is lovely, and if you can’t see it, I’d like to help you adjust your perspective. I don’t care if you stay in the profession or leave it, I only care about how you feel. I love watching you grow and become aware of your own beauty and perfection. There really isn’t anything more precious than that.
I know that happiness is open to every one of us when we move beyond the concepts that hold us prisoners and keep us limited.
The process of The Work is simple, although it is not always easy. Judge the people in your life who hurt you, and then inquire into your judgments.
Your life is a mirror image of your thinking. Until you are aware of this in your own mind, life will continue to run you. The Work helps you understand cause and effect in your world. When you are clear on your motivations, your belief systems, and on who you really are, life becomes a lot more smooth, and a lot more joyful.
Meeting with people on this level is precious. I’d love to share with you this deeply. If you’re intrigued, let’s do the Work!
