You have come to a gentle place,
A place to remember,
Not with sadness,
But with love.
You have carried your sadness,
And now you are at a quiet place where remembrance can breathe,
Where the pain eases and something warm rises.
Let's start by getting the body ready.
Feel the chair,
The floor,
And the ground under you.
Relax your shoulders.
Put your hands softly in your lap.
And start to pay attention to your breath.
Don't change it,
Simply notice it.
Breathe in,
And breathe out,
A steady beat like the rise and fall of a loved one's chest next to you.
Let your breath keep you here.
It should remind you that you are safe.
Let your awareness flow through your body slowly,
Like sunlight warming the limbs of a tree.
Feel your forehead get softer.
You should relax your jaw,
Your throat is open,
Your heart is soft,
Open,
And entire.
Let any feeling that comes up,
Come up.
This area is big enough for everything,
The tears,
The laughs,
And the pain.
You don't have to push anything away.
Now softly remember your dog.
Look at them as they lived,
Not as they left.
Their eyes were full of understanding,
Their tail wrought bliss in the air.
That noise they made when they said hello,
Their favorite location to sleep,
Their presence.
Let the memories come to you like soothing waves.
A walk you both enjoyed,
A time when they made you chuckle.
The way they looked at you when life was hard.
This is not a dream,
This is your life together.
This is what's left.
You might feel your body react like a warm feeling in your chest,
Or a heavy feeling in your throat.
But don't worry about it,
You can sense love taking shape.
Your dog provided you something that no one else could,
A trust that has no conditions,
A friendship that isn't fake.
They chose you in their own way,
And you offered them a place to live.
They were your heart's friends.
What they gave you is still here,
In your own manner,
In your beats,
In your gentleness.
They are a part of the calm beauty of your days.
Picture your dog resting peacefully,
Peaceful and whole,
Somewhere just beyond the barrier,
And feel their love coming back to you.
You might hear this in your heart.
Thanks for everything,
You made my life so great,
And I'm still with you in all the quiet ways.
Now it is time to start going back to the room.
Bring your attention back to your breath,
Steady and quiet.
Pay attention to how your body feels against the ground again,
And pay attention to the sounds in your area.
Take the warmth of what you just shared with you.
Let it live on in your memory and in your presence.
Let it live on in how you care,
How you walk gently through the world,
And how you keep loving.
You are not by yourself,
And the love you have for your dog is still here.
Put your palm on your heart and say thank you to them,
To yourself,
And to the relationship that still exists.
Take one more breath,
And softly open your eyes.
