Animals have served as incredible friends and confidants—at least in my world because of their innate ability to come from an unconditional place. I feel more at home with a dog or cat than most people. I have learned how perceptive animals are to energy and even the words we use around them. I think we underestimate their level of comprehension and assume they don’t understand anything or fully gather what takes place in our homes. My cat Obi has taught me so much about communication and how in tune these animals are to our energy.

Obi was rehomed because of aggression, and I knew it would be a long process getting him to a point where he would feel safe and comfortable. He has come a long way and seems incredibly adept at comprehension. Not only does he pick up when people feel sick or unwell and devote more of his time and attention to those in need, but he also understands certain words very clearly, especially regarding food.

I had a loved one stay with me for an extended period, and they were extremely depressed and struggling each day. Obi would get up and lay next to them for hours each day, accepting copious amounts of love and rubs when he usually can barely stand more than a few minutes of cuddles at a time. Still, he knew that he was helping and that his presence was assisting this person in need in some way.

As human beings, we take solace in the idea that animals don’t feel as deeply as we do, and they don’t understand as much as we give them credit. How upsetting it would be to realize the depth of their feelings associated with our collective mistreatment of them: through the ongoing decimation of their habitats across the globe, their ill-treatment on TV and film sets, and most recently, industrialized factory farming and all the cruelty associated with that.

Part of our experience on earth and our interactions with the animal world is realizing that they are an integral part of everything. I’m sure part of why humanity struggles as much as it does is because we’ve lost sight of what really matters regarding how we treat each other and how we respect animals as much as the earth itself. This notion was highlighted during the pandemic when many people started gardening again and spending more time at home. This was not a universal phenomenon when you factor in poverty, but for those fortunate enough to have access to green spaces, I think a lot of healing took place for those people. I think people who had so much healing occurred during those times partly because of that connection to the earth.

As I have grown spiritually, my vibration has changed, and I have become more sensitive to everything, including the foods I consume, the music I listen to, the films and TV I watch, and even the shampoos and lotions I use. It sucks, but as I realized these things, I started having nightmares about animals being slaughtered. I started learning from the universe that I needed to incorporate a more vegan diet, even to the point where sometimes I would order items with cheese, only to discover that the employee working at a restaurant neglected to add it to my meal.

It’s a privilege to be in tune with something spiritually higher than ourselves, and it makes having slight alterations that much more tolerable because it represents the idea that someone like myself might feel things profoundly and experience higher degrees of sensitivity, which is excellent for compassion and empathy. Regardless, sometimes I want cheese on my burrito, and then I’m gently reminded by the universe that, “nahhhh… you don’t need it.”

The flip side of having a propensity for high sensitivity is learning to incorporate energetic solid boundaries, which I struggle with, unfortunately, and it’s been a learning curve that I haven’t completely mastered yet. I can quickly spiral while in that state if I don’t prioritize it because having a high vibration or aura too outstretched all the time isn’t sustainable. It may feel amazing sometimes but isn’t ideal for navigating the real world properly.

I will 1000% admit that there have been times that I have been illogical, and so caught up in my spiritual side that I forget to live in the here and now. It’s equally important to be grounded as it is to be connected to the source because without connecting to the physical world, living seems like a moot experience—isn’t it? Why else would we be here if we weren’t supposed to engage in this physical reality fully? As incredible as it is to think about other potential realities or realms and what lies on the other side, we’re just wasting time here without authentic engagement with life!

I think balance can be overrated because I have this perception in my mind that everyone else’s life is perfect. I am just perpetually living in a state of slight unease and disorganization. When I think no one has their shit together 100% of the time but is good at seeming like they do, at least that’s what I’ve come to learn. I think we all assume everyone else knows what they’re doing, and then we all are just floundering around, but I’m not talking about whether you forgot to buy milk or pay your bill on time; the most important thing I’ve learned about balance pertains to a mental health crisis versus a spiritual awakening.

Spiritual balance separates streetside preachers speaking about the end of days and those who can communicate with spirit or have had intense spiritual experiences and can still live in the real world even when they have many extraordinary circumstances peppering their everyday lives.

This is the example I will use to differentiate why a mentally ill person asks me why they might need medication versus someone else who hears voices in their head but makes a living communicating with those who are no longer physically here. It’s a fine line sometimes, and it can be straightforward to lose ourselves in spirituality. And being grounded and realizing the importance of living here can sometimes prevent many issues from becoming exacerbated.

Some of us, whose light might shine differently than others, sometimes stick out like a sore thumb and might provoke others by their mere presence alone. They have added barriers to deal with because they are so misunderstood and might feel heightened emotions around loneliness because they are so different and deeply felt. Their path in life is unique, and as a result, they feel more isolated because others find it harder to relate to them.

About ten years ago, I was driving close to my current home. I was at a busy intersection, and my glasses were broken so that I couldn’t see well. I glanced up at the left hydro pole, where I noticed a bird with red tail feathers being watched by a crow. This all occurred while I waited for the light to turn green, and suddenly, the crow started attacking this unusual-looking bird.

I could barely see, but I quickly realized that I was looking at an African Gray Parrot, and parrots are not native to Nova Scotia, Canada—contrary to popular belief! So, I immediately yelled, “Oh my God! That’s a parrot! That’s an African Gray, “we need to pull over the car.” It had flown into a nearby tree, and we coaxed it down by calling to it. Eventually, it flew down and landed on the arm of my friend.

We were freaking out trying to figure out what to do with this parrot, and we decided to take it to a nearby Animal Hospital. We brought the bird in, and the staff notified us that the bird was female and looked like she had been out a few days but otherwise was in good condition. I went home, and my friend told her brother what happened, who had seen a lost parrot poster on his walk home from school. She contacted the family, who broke down on the phone, having thought they had lost their bird forever, and we helped save a tiny life that day.

My “moral of the story moment” from that encounter was that the crows noticed that this African Gray seemed out of place, and they were quick to judge this bird and attack it. It’s like people whose inner light shines a little differently. Just in the same way that unique thinkers and quirky personalities annoy some people—African Grey stood out to the crows.

Maybe it serves as an excellent reminder to me that perhaps that’s why someone like myself got bullied so relentlessly growing up, and sometimes the odd ones get separated from the rest because something within us stands out to other people—even on an energetic level. The crows seemed to know immediately that this bird was different and felt threatened. Much like these “judgey” crows, I think we humans still have a lot to learn. It’s misguided of us to assume we know it all, and sometimes, our most outstanding teachers are the most helpless and require more gentleness to help teach us so much about our humanity.