FROM THE OFFICE OF Dr. DOS SANTOS
SPIRITUAL
I lost my dog!
This was something that happened to me one week ago. I was on a trail with my little chihuahua mix, Wookie. It has been a very smart dog and my companion for all my walks and hikes around Redlands, Yucaipa, and Loma Linda. For this hike, I chose the Loch Leven trail from a place on highway 38 called Mountain Home Village that goes up to Angelus Oaks in the San Bernardino National Forest.
The place is beautiful, and the trail is not challenging, and it follows a creek most of the time. It was a good hike. When we got to 5,000 steps (about 2 miles), I lost track of the trail. There was a bridge over the creek that was destroyed, and I tried to explore where to go. Then, I decided to go back as I could not find my way on the trail anymore.
When I said the magic word,” Let’s go back,” Wookie got crazy. He likes to walk, but he is crazy to go back to the car or the house. Then, he ran ahead of me. Usually, he would do it for a few yards and then return to me to see if I am around or following him. This time, however, he took over, and that was the last time I saw him. I thought it would be waiting by the car, but it was not.
For the whole week, I repeatedly checked that trail; I talked to many people around, posted ‘dog lost’ signs everywhere, and went online. I posted it on Facebook, Nextdoor neighborhood (3 sites), and checked on the local animal shelter sites, nothing!
During the same week, I got a call from one of my students, and she asked me how I was doing. Reluctantly, I shared the story of the lost dog. She said she was sorry, and we continued our conversation. Then, when she talked about her courses, she said that two of her friends who used to proofread her papers have died of Covid 19.
That was tragic, and I started to feel uneasy about sharing my poor dog story with her. Anyway, she continued and said that she also lost some relatives from the disease, four of them, and in the last week, she lost a nephew in a car head-on collision. She lost about seven people between friends and relatives in the previous few weeks. Now I felt really embarrassed to have shared the dog’s story with her.
And I told her so, “I thought I had a problem, but comparing to yours, it is nothing!” Seven lost people! It is incredible, but this brought comfort for my loss because now I was the one giving words of consolation. And this is precisely what I tell my clients to do. I mean to talk to other people, to help others when they have struggles in their lives, and they will see that we are all humans and subject to tragedies every day. But on doing so, many times, comforting other people because of their struggles helps us find relief. And we always see someone with more significant problems than ours.
The lesson is evident, we need to live our lives focusing on helping others, and our troubles will become smaller until one day when we will live in a place without any misfortunes. Let’s keep our hopes on that day!
“There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4
Stress Management with humor? Read the e-Book “Laugh Your Illness Away” by Dr. Dos Santos (Kindle books – amazon.com).
SPIRITUAL
I lost my dog!
This was something that happened to me one week ago. I was on a trail with my little chihuahua mix, Wookie. It has been a very smart dog and my companion for all my walks and hikes around Redlands, Yucaipa, and Loma Linda. For this hike, I chose the Loch Leven trail from a place on highway 38 called Mountain Home Village that goes up to Angelus Oaks in the San Bernardino National Forest.
The place is beautiful, and the trail is not challenging, and it follows a creek most of the time. It was a good hike. When we got to 5,000 steps (about 2 miles), I lost track of the trail. There was a bridge over the creek that was destroyed, and I tried to explore where to go. Then, I decided to go back as I could not find my way on the trail anymore.
When I said the magic word,” Let’s go back,” Wookie got crazy. He likes to walk, but he is crazy to go back to the car or the house. Then, he ran ahead of me. Usually, he would do it for a few yards and then return to me to see if I am around or following him. This time, however, he took over, and that was the last time I saw him. I thought it would be waiting by the car, but it was not.
For the whole week, I repeatedly checked that trail; I talked to many people around, posted ‘dog lost’ signs everywhere, and went online. I posted it on Facebook, Nextdoor neighborhood (3 sites), and checked on the local animal shelter sites, nothing!
During the same week, I got a call from one of my students, and she asked me how I was doing. Reluctantly, I shared the story of the lost dog. She said she was sorry, and we continued our conversation. Then, when she talked about her courses, she said that two of her friends who used to proofread her papers have died of Covid 19.
That was tragic, and I started to feel uneasy about sharing my poor dog story with her. Anyway, she continued and said that she also lost some relatives from the disease, four of them, and in the last week, she lost a nephew in a car head-on collision. She lost about seven people between friends and relatives in the previous few weeks. Now I felt really embarrassed to have shared the dog’s story with her.
And I told her so, “I thought I had a problem, but comparing to yours, it is nothing!” Seven lost people! It is incredible, but this brought comfort for my loss because now I was the one giving words of consolation. And this is precisely what I tell my clients to do. I mean to talk to other people, to help others when they have struggles in their lives, and they will see that we are all humans and subject to tragedies every day. But on doing so, many times, comforting other people because of their struggles helps us find relief. And we always see someone with more significant problems than ours.
The lesson is evident, we need to live our lives focusing on helping others, and our troubles will become smaller until one day when we will live in a place without any misfortunes. Let’s keep our hopes on that day!
“There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4
Stress Management with humor? Read the e-Book “Laugh Your Illness Away” by Dr. Dos Santos (Kindle books – amazon.com).