Health Update, My Animal Spirit Guides and Watership Down Nails

I’ve always loved Watership Down (by Richard Adams) as a kid, and it’s one of the many things that pushed me into the world of animal rights and being cruelty free. I had the extremely talented @gimmedatbecca do this wonderful Watership Down nail art for me. On one side is the Black Rabbit of Inle (reversed in white to symbolize life) on the other side – the star of the show Hazel.

I have a tattoo of the Black Rabbit of Inle (if you haven’t read the book or seen the movie, he represents death, but in a positive way). I’m NOT a very spiritual person, but I think when someone is going through something difficult in life, that kind of thing tends to come out. I’ve always had what you might call “animal spirit guides” come to me throughout my life. I’m not crazy, and I’m sure it’s something my brain is making up to make me feel better, but I’ll take it.

When I was a young, painfully shy kid (elementary school age), it was a black panther who guided me through the scary world of growing up. Strangely enough, the high school I ended up going to had a black panther as a mascot. When I broke up with a boyfriend of 8 years who I thought I would end up married to, a female white fox consoled me. When my ex-boyfriend and best friend committed suicide several years ago, I got the Black Rabbit tattoo in memory of him. (He also looks kind of like the Leaping Bunny – a symbol of cruelty free products, so it has a double meaning for me.)

Since I’ve been diagnosed with Lyme disease (Updated: I don’t believe the tests for Lyme were accurate – and I think my problms stem from the gut – possibly SIBO, Leaky Gut, etc.), the rabbit has been popping up everywhere. I looked at a lotus painting in the room where I’ve been getting lymphatic drainage massages (Marchelle Brown in Santa Monica – she’s great BTW), and I saw a rabbit – plain as day. But there was no rabbit, it was simply my mind consoling me once again.

For those who are wondering, I’m still taking natural remedies, but I’m also on my second of several antibiotics and it’s rough. It makes my joints hurt, my head aches, I feel lethargic, my body is swollen, and I’m short of breath. My lymph nodes are swollen, so I know my body is trying to fight it. It has to get worse before it gets better.

So as the “Chief Bunny”, I’m having a hard time keeping up with blogging, my career at Top Tier Media, and my life with friends and family. It’s a tough battle, but I’m a fighter. Just like the rabbits in Watership Down, I’m not going down without a fight.

“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”  – Winston Churchill