When the Animals Show You the Way

A reflection on leaving, returning and the love that goes beyond space and time

The world is upside down. And yet — paradoxically, unexpectedly — my inner world has never felt more beautifully attuned. The weeks before, during and after my recent travels brought a depth of connection with humans and animals alike that moved me deeply. A groundedness I hadn't expected. And a recurring reference to light — in myself, in the people around me, in the most ordinary moments.

The leaving

I almost didn't go. With bombs flying over Jordan, leaving my desert bubble felt more challenging than usual. I already find it hard to leave my furry family and the particular silence of this land. But I had paid for a Systemic Ritual training in Berlin with Daan van Kampenhout. My mother had fallen and was asking for me. And I know from experience that when I travel, meet people I love and come back inspired — and full of Dutch food — something in me resets. Still, I hesitated.

It was the horses and dogs who resolved it. In that way they always do — without words, without agenda. They simply pulled me into their heart space. Presence, cuddles, play. I felt myself drop into heart coherence. And from that place, the clarity came: I needed to do what felt right for me.

I constellated the options. Energetically it was clear. I had to go. So with a big yes in my heart and a rather squeezed bum, I flew from Aqaba to Cairo and on to Berlin.

The arriving

The Systemic Ritual group was beautiful. I arrived so present that several people commented on my radiance — which still makes me smile. Then on to my mother, to friends, to the particular richness of Dutch winter light and long kitchen table conversations. My mother finally understood that I am held. That she doesn't need to worry. That felt like a completion of something long in the making.

The crack

And then — one photograph of my cat Nunoush, sick as I had never seen him, shattered that radiance like a stone through glass. He was rushed to the vet. I was far away. The people around me didn't quite understand the depth of bond I have with my animals — but from unexpected corners, support arrived. That held me enough to stay present where I was, to arrange care, and to do what I know how to do: create ritual, send heart connection, hold him energetically across the distance.

And then something became very clear to me. I had gone away. I had arranged practical care. But I had dropped the thread of energetic connection — the bond that goes beyond space and time. I had assumed physical distance meant I could let that go. I was wrong. He felt it. Animals always do.

The learning

I resisted the urge to run home. Instead I went to a 5Rhythms class and danced — through resistance, through grief, through the rhythms until something loosened and wisdom rose from beneath all of it. What came through was simple and profound:

Only when we are truly present are we connected with all that is.

When I dance, when I am fully in my body and my heart — I am connected with my loved ones across any distance. They sense this. Not consciously, perhaps. But the field knows. I kept my heart open. I stayed. I trusted.

The returning

I arrived back in Jordan with my heart wide open, my boundaries clear, and a quiet inspiration running through everything. Nunoush is home. He is soaking up my energy — and quite a lot of chicken — and slowly, steadily finding his way back.

And I am reminded, once again, of what the animals have always taught me:

Love flows when we surrender. Healing happens when we stay connected. And the bond between us and the creatures we love — it does not require proximity. It requires presence. That is the teaching. That is also the gift of Spring.

Sarah Written from the Jordanian desert, April 2025