{"id":138,"date":"2012-06-04T07:44:24","date_gmt":"2012-06-04T14:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/debbiepetrina.authorsxpress.com\/?p=138"},"modified":"2012-06-04T07:44:24","modified_gmt":"2012-06-04T14:44:24","slug":"using-perspective-and-positive-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/debbiepetrina.com\/?p=138","title":{"rendered":"Using Perspective and Positive Thinking"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cOvercoming Hardship and Loss\u201d<\/strong>
\nJune 4, 2012<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to put my beloved dog down yesterday. I\u2019d rather have him back than the use of my legs.\u201d\u00a0 That was a tweet I sent out on Friday.<\/p>\n

My dog Bear was such a faithful companion for thirteen years.\u00a0 My son brought him home and gave him to me when he was only five weeks old.\u00a0 It was love at first sight, and we were inseparable after that initial bond.\u00a0 He was very sick when I had to make the decision to put him down.\u00a0 I know I did the right thing, but I feel such sadness and grief right now.<\/p>\n

He was my best friend.\u00a0 He always listened to me, never was mean to me, and stayed by my side no matter what mood I was in.\u00a0 If I was happy, he was happy. If I was sad, he was sad.\u00a0 If I left the house without him, he laid by the door until I came home.\u00a0 Our favorite activity was to take a long walk around the neighborhood every morning and greet the neighbors.<\/p>\n

I started to train him to be a therapy dog early, and he was so smart he would put his own toys away.\u00a0 Bear was so patient and understood my disability. At seventy pounds, he was sturdy and still as I grabbed onto him for balance, or needed help to roll over or stand. I swear if he could push a vacuum cleaner, he would have swept my floors for me.<\/p>\n

Dogs are amazing animals.\u00a0 They are incredibly smart and their senses are keen.\u00a0 They don\u2019t complain and if treated right, are so devoted; their love is unconditional.\u00a0 They want to please, and are taught to be useful and obey. They assist police, soldiers, handicapped people, and others in incredible ways.<\/p>\n

I am using the power of perspective and positive thinking to help me through my loss:<\/p>\n

*\u00a0Bear was very seriously sick and now he is at peace.\u00a0 I know in my heart, mind and gut I made the right decision.<\/p>\n

*We had thirteen good years together, and gave each other tremendous joy.\u00a0 I was lucky, but he was lucky too.\u00a0 He had a lot of love from everyone whether they knew him or not.\u00a0 He was always fed, walked, brushed, played with and attended to when he was sick or hurt, up until his last breath.<\/p>\n

*So many other dogs (or cats, etc.) never have these things.\u00a0 They are abused, abandoned, or neglected.\u00a0 Too many loving animals that could have what Bear and I had never get that chance.\u00a0 In fact, he had a better life than most people on this planet.<\/p>\n

*Likewise, even though I have many difficulties with my MS, I also have a better life than most people. My family loves and supports me, I live in a modest but comfortable home, eat well, and have everything that I need except perfect health.\u00a0 But then again, I tell myself that things could always be a lot worse.\u00a0 A good friend has a Down\u2019s syndrome daughter; another friend has a severely autistic child.\u00a0 My brother-in-law lost his 16-yr. child in a bad accident\u2026<\/p>\n

*It\u2019s okay to cry or vent out feelings for awhile.\u00a0 It\u2019s not being weak or emotional; it\u2019s being human.\u00a0 My husband, son and I are talking about our feelings and memories.<\/p>\n

*I am grateful for the sensitivity and kindness others have shown in support of the loss.\u00a0 What would I do without my family and friends?<\/p>\n

Throughout the years I have suffered many hardships and losses–my physical problems from MS; death of a parent, other close relatives and friends; financial and emotional distress from job losses of both my husband and myself\u2014the list is quite long.\u00a0 I have used my perspective and positive thinking through these difficult situations to help me cope with my grief.\u00a0 Things happen in life we don\u2019t always understand or think are unfair.\u00a0 I think experience, age, my MS and attitude have taught me that. It may not work for everyone, but it works for me.<\/p>\n

So I will be sad for now but slowly heal in time to the point where my sadness will dissipate and fond memories will replace it.\u00a0 I will always feel Bear\u2019s loss, but I accept it and will continue to move forward. Life goes on and Bear would want me to go forward with it.<\/p>\n

www.DebbieMS.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cOvercoming Hardship and Loss\u201d June 4, 2012 \u201cI had to put my beloved dog down yesterday. I\u2019d rather have him back than the use of my legs.\u201d\u00a0 That was a tweet I sent out on Friday. My dog Bear was … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[99,139,165,166,185,307,347,353,359],"class_list":["post-138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-coping-with-grieflosshardship","tag-chronic-illnesses","tag-grief","tag-loss","tag-loss-of-pet","tag-ms","tag-multiple-sclerosis","tag-overcoming-loss-and-hardship","tag-perspective","tag-positive-thinking"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/debbiepetrina.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/debbiepetrina.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/debbiepetrina.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debbiepetrina.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debbiepetrina.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/debbiepetrina.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/debbiepetrina.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debbiepetrina.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debbiepetrina.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}