Wax & Wane with Neerja: What’s My Phase Today?

By Neerja Shah

We all experience life, like the phases of the moon, where we believe, the joys wane fast and sorrows wax on. My phases are so jumbled up that sometimes I think I am a ball of light… like the sun?

The joys wane fast and sorrows wax on.

My story is simple – I am a dog lady, a bit loony, and quite done with howling at the moon, all on my own. It’s been over 15 years since I put myself out there. In another avatar, I was really like a ball of light, alas, my ‘no moon’ phase lingered longer. But a new moon always comes along, so here I am.

I have just finished reading Beauregard of Ballarat: A Happy Tale by an old mate, Shapoor Batliwalla. I did a play with him in college aeons ago. He still acts in tv, films, and theatre in Australia.

So, the dog Beauregard narrates his story to Shapoor, sharing his thoughts and feelings, to show humans how the simple ways of dogs could improve the lives of and I quote, “…those who are smart enough to listen.”

I can’t write it better than the author him, so here’s an excerpt I resonated with:

“A huge reason for our state of constant contentment is we animals take everything at its simplest, most obvious level. Complexity is a human invention; your search for ‘true meaning’ the ‘underlying reason’ behind everything you bump into.

Rather than just giving things a good old chew then burying them in the back yard once and for all, you keep searching and questioning, disbelieving and mistrusting. Sorry, but it has to be said, your single greatest folly is reaching for a ‘rational explanation’ to everything.

Your single greatest folly is reaching for a ‘rational explanation’ to everything.

All you get when you try and reach for the unattainable is anxiety. Reach into the stratosphere for a star and you’ll lose a finger to frostbite. Come back down to earth. It’s much warmer.”

I personally think it means put your rationalising aside and allowing your heart to override the confusion your head can conjure up. In the past couple of weeks my 14+ year old Jack Russell Julius has been in for two procedures to push back stones lodged in his urethra. The vets would like to operate but my heart said a big NO! I will simply give him all the TLC and the best possible non-invasive treatment – the rest will follow.

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