Poor Tank has been sporting his cone of shame for over two weeks. He had a growth removed from his back leg and we were hoping to get his stiches out last week, but no such luck – another week in the dastardly cone. It has been challenging, to say the least, keeping him from becoming too active as he is starting to feel better.
Looking up the actual definition of the collar, I love that it is called an Elizabethan collar – so royal! But it is also known as the cone of shame. Plastic cones placed around the head to prevent an animal from licking at a surgery site or wound.
Imagine having an itch that you can’t scratch! That has to be so frustrating. But, we need to allow our wounds, our disappointments, and our frustrations to heal. To heal a wound you need to stop touching it. Otherwise, the wounds become infected, causing an unhealthy spiral in our lives. A simple, but profound truth.
The other night I was thinking how the cone keeps Tank’s vision distorted, making it almost impossible to look from side to side. He follows me around continually. It is even more noticeable with the cone on since he has to be looking straight ahead to see me. He bumps into walls and doorways, trying to maneuver his way around the house.
This of course, made me think of how we are often blinded to the things around us, as if we have our own self-made cone of shame. Laser focused, seeing only center gaze, also known as tunnel vision, distorting anything in the peripheral.
I tend to be a black and white person – and it has taken me years to acknowledge the grey in life. I was, like Tank, always bumping into walls because my vision was impaired – not seeing the whole picture in circumstances. Thinking it was so much more important to accomplish a task, to be right about a situation, or complete a goal. Now I look around much more, that cone has slowly been removed. This allows me to see things in the peripheral more clearly. The beauty in our surroundings, mother nature, other people, ideas new to me and experiences off the straight and narrow path.
Lately there has been so much negativity in the U.S. that I limit my time on social media. It really hurts me to see friends posting hatred about others they disagree with. These are people that I believe to be very loving individuals, yet spewing out such intense anger.
When we have tunnel vision our view is distorted, we don’t see the whole picture. And part of the whole picture is others around us having different beliefs. Let’s all try to be accepting of others, especially those we disagree with. Practice intentional kindness, not expecting anything in return. It is then that we will begin to fully heal.
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