Noticing my donkey was not eating with her normal gusto, I went into her paddock and discovered one puncture wound after another on her sweet face, chest, legs, belly and on and on. Horrified and shocked, I then noticed our little two year old girl wobbling and not looking her “normal self” either! As the shock wore off, I registered that these two precious girls had been clearly attacked by some canine (coyote, feral dog or larger feline?). Both came to me and laid their their little faces in my lap as I put in an emergency call to our beloved Vet, Dr. David Robertson.
As Dr.Robertson shaved off their hair and scrubbed and assessed their wounds, the little three year old “cozied up” beside me and let me “hold” her, support her and be with her in pain. The little donkey SOUGHT AFTER and ACCEPTED the help with tenderness and courage. She did not RESIST HELP. She does not suffer from human pride luckily. Able to RECOGNIZE HER VULNERABILITY and WOUNDEDNESS, she knew to ASK FOR and ACCEPT THE HELP.
As the CAREGIVER along with Dr. Robertson, I was very “moved” by her WILLINGNESS TO BE TOUCHED despite her pain and fear. Even the inexperienced, wounded two year old was able to LEAN INTO the help as she nestled her little face between my legs. My donkeys teach me how to live in the face of pain….
How many of us can really be OPEN and AVAILABLE and WISE enough to signal when we need help and to actually ACCEPT HELP without RESISTANCE? Let this be a lesson for us all…
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