I was meditating at the beach last Monday morning and in the spirit of the new season of spring, delighting myself in liberating all that has served its purpose in my journey. I walked the shore affirming from my heart the words” I am free, I am free, I am free!” It felt peaceful and wonderful to connect with the internal freedom that belongs to each one of us and that we sometimes loose sight off as we work through our attachments in this incarnation.
As I was saying these words while walking by the edge of the beautiful blue sea, right before me a small turtle appeared! “Oh my goodness!” was my first reaction, your name is Free! She looked in distress, out of place, her shell was slighlty broken close to the tail side. She was no more than 3 inches long. I picked her up and took her home.
That is when I started my research on turtles. At first I thought she was a sea turtle, I simply assumed that because I found her at the beach. I looked for turtle rescue groups and unfortunately there are none here in the UAE that I could find. I meditated on what to do, I learned that these turtles could survive for a limited amount of time without the salt water so I needed to act fast. I had her in a comfortable bin at home, with a light overhead and a basking rock for her to rest on surrounded by water for her to swim. She seemed comfortable. I also used a diluted iodide solution, as recommended by a site, to help her heal her shell and of course, gave her reiki. I thought of returning her to the beach to allow nature to take its course. I meditated and heard the guides tell me clearly to keep her for 3 days.
And so I began to examine her, talk with her and do more research on her kind…only to find out that this was NOT a beach turtle, she was indeed a red eared slider! She had claws, webbed feet and the markings next to her ears, the under shell, everything! Oh goodness, someone who perhaps had her as a pet, dropped her off at the beach! Who knows how long she had been exposed to sea water, which actually is poisonous to them. Red eared sliders are commonly bought as pets.
I was now getting excited about creating a wonderful habitat for her at the house and including her as part of the family. I spent most of my time at home just being with her, giving her reiki, and talking with her. She was swimming, coming to me, looking at me while I spoke and seemed quite complacent. The only concern is that no matter what I put in for her to eat, based on the recommendations, she would not eat. That concerned me. The other thing that concerned me is that when she swam she wanted to get out of her basin, I could sense that she wanted more freedom and I wondered if keeping pets like this truly honored them. Other than that, she seemed quite happy and we kept exchanging “conversations”.
Interestingly to me, lately I have been taking photographs of all that is precious to me, yet everytime I thought of photographing Free, I did not feel like I wanted to. Instead on the third day, I decided to paint. I brought her next to me and I painted “Magical Jungle”. In that painting on the lower right hand side, you can appreciate the energy of ‘Free”. The painting gave me much peace, I truly love it! That afternoon, on the third day precisely, about 3 hours later, Free passed away.
I can’t explain the feelings for I felt a great deal of sadness, heartbreak, yet at the same time I felt peace. I had done all that I could, I was so grateful for the love that she allowed me to feel, and Ialso felt that now she was truly Free. It is not the first time that I facilitate Reiki for animals that are ready to transition. I felt so grateful to know that she died surrounded by so much love and not left alone in distress at the beach.
All of us in the family showered her with love. We celebrated a small burial ceremony for her and returned her to Mother Earth next to trees and water, the two elements that sustained her life. As I think of her, my tears still flow, my heart awakens. I don’t feel pain, I feel the magic of every encounter, the preciousness of every moment we live, and I have a deeper realization that it is through non-attachment that we can truly be Free. I am so grateful for all that is. May this brief story of my journey with Free bless you as much as Free blessed me.