Centre Christian Spiritualist Church

Our Animal Kingdom

Our Dog

The faithful dog will stay with you, Will laugh with you and cry,
She will gladly starve to stay with you And never reason why.
And when you're feeling out of sorts, Somehow she will understand.
She'll watch you with her shining eyes, And try to lick your hand.

Her blind faith in you Is matched by her deep love.
The sort of love that we should have, In our Master up above.
And when everything is said and done, It really isn't odd
For when you spell dog backwards You get the name of God.

Man's Best Friend

A dog is four muddy feet on your best carpet,
And a doormat on which to wipe your angry mind.
She is a romp with the kids in the lounge,
Perpetual motion in a ball - game.

A boy, on a lead, being taken for a walk.
A dog is happiness, viewed from the rear,
A burglar alarm, a glutton for bones, and for punishment.
A connoisseur of tree roots and lamp posts.

She is four footed frenzy at your front gate,
And a calm curve of comfort before your fire.
A dog is man's best friend, whose loyalty is never in question.
When you lose her there is an ultimate gap in your life,

Until you get another dog.

A Dog's Plea

Treat me kindly, my beloved friend, for no heart in all the world
is more grateful for kindness than the loving heart of me.
Do not break my spirit with a stick, for though I should lick
your hand between blows,
your patience and understanding will more quickly teach
me the things you would have me learn.

Speak to me often, for your voice is the world's sweetest music,
as you must know by the fierce wagging of my tail when your
footstep falls upon my waiting ear.
Please take me inside when it is cold and wet, for I am a
domesticated animal,
no longer accustomed to the bitter elements.

I ask no greater glory than the privilege of sitting at your feet beside the hearth.
Keep my pan filled with fresh water, for I cannot tell you when I suffer thirst.
Feed me clean food that I may stay well, to romp and play and do your bidding,
to walk by your side, and stand ready, willing and able to protect you
with my life, should your life be in danger.

And, my friend, when I am very old, and I no longer enjoy good health,
hearing and sight, do not make heroic efforts to keep me going.
I am not having any fun.
Please see that my trusting life is taken gently.
I shall leave this earth knowing with the last breath
I draw that my fate was always safest in your hands.

~~ Author Unknown ~~

The Rainbow Bridge

  I know what you're thinking. You think I'm dead. Because you cannot
 see me with your human eye, Cannot feel me with your hands or hold me in your
 arms you think I am gone forever. You recall how I looked when I left
 this place and you cannot remotely imagine that I could possibly be alive
 in another place. You are racked and torn by the pain of our separation
and it blinds you to that which is right in front of you ... me.

How many times since I left your immediate sight have you been told that
 I'm dead and you should "get over it?" How many times have you
 cried yourself to sleep because you feel like an outcast, believing
 you're supposed to get over me because that's what people say  is
normal but somehow you can't and no one seems to understand?

How many times have you put yourself through such excruciating pain
because you aren't willing to consider that I am not, by any means, dead?

I want you to do me a favour and go back in time with me.
Remember the glorious day you brought me home - was I not the
most intriguing creature you'd ever met? Did I not make you laugh
 and giggle? Did I not look at you with such adoration that you
 wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of your life with me?
 I wanted this too.

Remember the days when I was in my prime and we did many
things together. You were so proud of me! I was a good friend and
I took care of you when you cried, were angry or felt down and
unhappy. When you didn't have a lot of time for me because of your
obligations, I waited patiently for you. I was always there when
you needed me. Did I not look at you with such acceptance and
patience that at times you felt perhaps a bit unworthy?
You were never unworthy in my eyes.

Remember when age crept up on me, my bones became stiff and
 my movements slower. Still I met you at the door when you came
home and followed you around the house.
We'd been together  for so long, I was your very best friend regardless
 of what you were doing, saying, thinking. Did I not look at
 you with such kindness and understanding that you
 felt overwhelmed? I couldn't get enough of you.

Remember the last time we saw each other with earthly eyes.
You tried to be brave but I knew you were crying ...
I know you so well. Better than anyone else in the whole world.
Did I not look at you with such pure trust and love that you
yearned only to hold me close and keep me with you always?
Did you not promise that you would love me forever? I believed you.

If this is so then why have you let me go by thinking I no longer exist?

Remember the depth in my eyes all those times I looked at
you with adoration, acceptance, patience, trust and love.
Who created this depth and love? Would the Creator diminish
the song of our laughter which was created in the name of love?
I am no longer an earthly figure, this is true. My body was
only part of who I really am. My body would have been but a
 mere shell on earth if it were not filled to overflowing with
my soul, my spirit, my loving light. When we met you
thought I was cute, sweet, pretty and adorable.
But what kind of relationship would we have had if this is
all that I'd been? How could you have loved me
 if I'd had no spiritual substance?

We are all made up of energy which resides far deep down
inside of us, it is our core, our soul, spirit and loving light.
It is the energy that is all of life ... it has no beginning,
it has no end. It simply is and always will be and
without it there is no life. You can't see it with the naked
eye nor can you hold it in your hand, it is simply a certain
knowing that this energy does exist. It's a knowing
just as you know that our love existed on earth - you couldn't
 see our love in a solid sense, you couldn't gather it all
up and confine it to one place.
But you *knew* it existed. There was no doubt in your mind.

They demand you get over me, insisting that I'm dead and
you'll never see me again because animals don't go to Heaven.
 Oh really? I'm here to tell you different. You were worthy
of my love and undying devotion on earth as I was of yours.
Do you really believe this love would be snatched from
us *forever* by a loving Creator simply because
I wasn't human? Was I not a living, breathing creation with
personality? How could I have been so if I didn't possess
the energy of soul, spirit and loving light? And if this
energy is and always will be, then how can it be that I am dead?
If my core is not of the energy that is all of life then I was
never alive to begin with. But you know better.

You cry because you miss me, this I understand. I miss you too - I
miss the belly rubs, hugs and kisses that we shared. But life does go
on beyond these wonderful, fulfilling physical connections. I
came to this place to live a whole new life, not because I didn't
love you anymore or because I wanted something better.
I came here because it was time for me to go to the next
phase of my existence, something all living creatures
must do eventually. It is the normal progression of life.
I was not taken away from you because you cannot
take away that which was never owned. My presence
in your life was and is a gift to be cherished and
honoured just as I cherish and honour you.

Life is not simply about being born into a body, living a
certain number of years and then dying. Energy cannot die.
We are blessed with time in a body so that we can learn,
share and grow. It prepares us for the next phase of our eternal life.
 The body holds within it the true life force of our existence...our soul,
 spirit and loving light. Without these our bodies would be
empty, blank, void of feeling and expression. Without our
energy we would indeed be dead and could never
have experienced our love for each other.

You say that all you have left are memories. Not so. You see, when
 I took leave of my earthly body I left a little something behind for you.
You can't touch it, hold it or examine it for what I left behind is
far too uninhibited for confinement. I left behind a piece of
my soul. I placed it right next to your own which is quite
fitting as we were always side by side in our earthly life
together. I love you too much to have left you with nothing
 but memories which tend to fade and grow cloudy as the
 years go by. I love you too much to have vanished without
a trace. How selfish it would be of me to
remove love and light from your life.

I understand your tears, each one you shed is testament to your
 love for me and I am honoured and humbled. But don't forget
the good things we shared - remember and smile. This is an
 honour for me as well. And when you need me I will
 be here. Close your eyes, relax, take slow, deep breaths and
picture me in your mind. Shut off the world and your notions
of what death is and give me a chance. Look for the subtle
signs I send you. Don't stop being proud of me,
I am a friend to be proud of, I am still your friend
and soul mate. Don't memorialise the death of my
body but instead honour and celebrate my never-ending
 life for it is eternal and forever as is my love for you.

Author Unknown ~~