These days, when I’m suddenly frustrated or upset by some small thing, I look to my dogs. If they have no idea what I’m responding to, I consider that perhaps it’s not so real as my first impression. Leela and Pelli otherwise notice most everything about me, except when sleeping, that is. And while we don’t agree on everything, like the threat level of the approaching UPS truck or the imperative to sniff the world, we live together just as we are.
It’s a kind of validation and sense of belonging that most dog-loving folks regularly enjoy.
We humans do carry on with our inner dramas, projecting outward to make right what feels so wrong. Not that these experiences should be ignored but just placed correctly.
Like the theatre in my mind that my dogs cannot see, sometimes we’re enacting scenes of desperation—like the deep need for others to tell us we are all right, that we are not a failure, that we are loved. The twist is that even when we receive reassurance for some conditional performance, the inner doubt lingers—never really quelled until we recognize the subplot.
In evidential mediumship, validation is essential. But I often ask people: what needs validating? You or the impressions you’re receiving?
When we show up in all our vulnerability—as the authentic, imperfect creatures that we are—we may find ourselves in the frightening position of not knowing: not knowing how it will go or if people will understand and accept us or if our worst fears will be realized.
Hidden within such anxiety, we may sense some deeper impulse to express what we know is true. Perhaps now too strong to ignore… perhaps no longer willing to ignore.
In that moment, we muster the courage and make ourselves visible. When met there with Yes!… now that’s a direct hit, a true thing, a more lasting impact.
Until next time…