LOSING SOMETHING PRECIOUS
“Sometimes we have to lose something precious not necessarily to gain something priceless; sometimes, just losing is priceless.”
– Shahid Hussain Raja
September was a great, interesting, and turbulent month. A lot of things happened as well as disappointments.
The most exciting highlights were:
- I gave a Mental Health First Aid course at Denver Botanic Garden (one of my favorite places in Denver).
- I presented through just keep livin Foundation, a nonprofit committed to empowering high school students by providing them with tools to lead active lives and make healthy choices for a better future. just keep livin was founded by Camila and Matthew McConaughey.
- After eight years of writing and submitting various proposals for an idea that I am passionate about and want to pursue, I finally got the funding approval. I am beyond elated. More information will be shared in next month’s newsletter.
The most challenging thing was Lola has been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease and there is no cure for it. The vet gave Lola about a year or two before her kidneys completely failed and shut down.
This news caught me totally off guard. Lola is ten years old and turning eleven at the end of November. With her high/happy energy and size, I thought Lola would live to be at least fifteen years old or more.
One of my biggest struggles with Lola’s news is that most of my identity is wrapped around her existence. For example, my active lifestyle is closely woven with hers. I walk an average of two miles per day during the warm seasons with her. Going on long walks with Lola is one of my favorite things to do. This includes hiking. I am feeling extremely saddened and scared to lose her.
The news of Lola’s kidney disease overshadowed all of the exciting news and experiences in September. It’s hard for me to be cheerful and celebratory when this inevitable tragedy lingers over my head.
That being said, almost ten years ago I took a very powerful and meaningful mental health training called Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP). According to their website, WRAP is “a simple and powerful process for creating the life and wellness you want. With WRAP, you can:
- Discover simple, safe, and effective tools to create and maintain wellness
- Develop a daily plan to stay on track with your life and wellness goals
- Identify what throws you off track and develop a plan to keep moving forward
- Gain support and stay in control even in a crisis
The WRAP process supports you to identify the tools that keep you well and create action plans to put them into practice in your everyday life. All along the way, WRAP helps you incorporate key recovery concepts and wellness tools into your plans and your life.”
During the WRAP training, I built my crisis plan and personal plan for prevention and recovery around Lola while working on the “identify what throws you off track and develop a plan to keep moving forward” and “gain support and stay in control even in a crisis” portion and exercises.
Fast forward to the present time. When I noticed that I was on a negative, depressive downward spiral because of Lola’s kidney disease, I returned to my WRAP workbook to review what I had already planned for myself during this crisis situation, and how I could prevent myself from falling further into a dark pit. Here are the top five actions that I identified:
- Go to happy hour.
- Take Lola out to her favorite parks/places every day.
- Continue my workout routine.
- Make sure that I get enough sleep.
- Plan and save up to go to Bora Bora.
Looking back on my list, I chuckled at the first action. I would be delighted to oblige to the happy hour command 😊.
Lola’s death is unavoidable, and I know it will cause severe mental and emotional turmoil within me. The “me” from 10 years ago was wise to choose Bora Bora as an escape and healing route. And, this is exactly what I plan to do now. I am going to start saving up and making plans so when the inevitable happens, I will pump some irons first, get some happy hour afterward, have a good night’s sleep, and fly out to Bora Bora.
Photo: Lola and her BFF Molko (the golden lab) and Meadow (the mud).
*I am not getting paid to say this, nor am I an instructor for WRAP. Whether you are experiencing a mental health challenge or not, I believe everyone needs to take WRAP. It can be a life-changing experience for you. I highly recommend it…
Recent Comments