Christine Hassing
Author, mentor, inspirational speaker combining spiritual intelligence with leadership competencies. Teaching souls searching for hope. Across cultures, across nations, across distance and space
April 6, 2021 Hope Has a Cold Nose and Other Stories of Hope
Audio Version of Jack and Charlotte
Dear Readers.
Dear Co-Authors,
I love that you are my person, and I am yours, that whatever door we will come to, we will open it together. – A.R. Asher
In the March 26th blog, I shared a link at the end calling to co-authors for stories of hope and healing, that together we could cast ripples far and wide of hope. That together we could be the pages in someone else’s survival guide.
Calling all Stories of Hope (christinehassing.com)
I am honored to bring you the first story. It is my privilege to retell an inspiring story that is not absent of pain, trauma, sorrow, despair…or grief. But it is because of these things that you will read a moving story of healing, hope, and unconditional love.
JACK AND CHARLOTTE
Mom, I have many proud moments when it comes to you. Yet, there are two that especially shine through. One is when you and I took our 430-mile Appalachian Trail journey in 2019. The way you hiked up those steep hills, especially the moments when you doubted your capability. I knew you could do it, even if you did not believe it at the time. After all, I have been blessed to witness you make much steeper climbs. I am convinced there isn’t a mountain too steep for you. One of the things I love about you most, mom, is you don’t always know that to be true.
It is the nature of your humbleness and your large heart for others in need. Always a story of someone struggling more than you might have, your certainty. I am proud of you, too, mom, for your generosity. You do not ask anything in return of anyone you assist, except maybe that they pay forward assistance when another is struggling.
You could choose to be cautious to assist, hypervigilance your gift from your military training. You could choose to be leery of offering support, knowing well that trust is a precious commodity. A commodity that can be shattered quite easily. Yet, you use another gift to guide your way. You in-tune to that inner voice to tell you if all is ok.
Mom, there is another moment I am especially proud of you. It is the night you whispered, “it is your choice, Jack, in what you would like to do”. Um…mom…forgive my pausing. I get a little chocked up when I think about this chapter in our story. See mom, I have known since you and I became a team that you whole-heartedly loved me. But that night when I was sick, and you thought I was dying. Well, to offer me the choice to stay or go spoke of the greatest love that can be given to another – trust me I know. Mom, you put me ahead of your own heart with your unconditional love.
That is what makes us a really great team. I for you, and you for me. What is best for each other is our top priority. –Written by Jack, October 2020
Life’s funny, wonderous, heart-gripping, miraculous, exhilarating, adventurous flow. It brings the sweet joy of birth, and it brings the sweet sorrow of letting go. In the middle of our first breath and our last breath are all the blessed moments we choose our response to the currents in this river of life. Will we choose to keep paddling with the current one stroke at a time? Or fiercely paddle against the current’s natural direction, only we individually can decide.
Life’s beautiful, steep, majestic, sometimes dark, splendid, stormy, itchy, biting lonely path we may find ourselves walking. It can test our resilience, our will, and our hope leading our mind to a I am done certainty. It can also lead us to clarity, forgiveness, peace, and gratitude. Yes, to finding gratitude, too. If we never climb the steepest hills, we would miss this breathtaking scenery sprawling ahead for miles our eyes now see. We would miss that inside feeling from somewhere deep that has just proven our strength of being and done is no longer in our vocabulary. Or if we never have known the darkest nights, we could not feel the warmth of the sun now penetrating to our bones as it whispers, always the birth of a new day. We would have missed the journey to the greatest place we can travel to for the greatest gain.
To know oneself, and to embrace one’s light and shadow sides unconditionally. Well, all that I can simple say is that is where one finds the secret to living. Flourish, thrive, keep taking one step forward no matter what the moment is bringing. Life is beautiful and traumatic and a gift and ours to choose believing impossible or possibility.
I once knew the intention I held many nights in a row that sleep would come permanently. Impossible was being a very best friend to me. Hopeless was excited when it was time to call it a day. Hopeless was always disgruntled when Morning knocked, and I didn’t turn it away. Don’t get me wrong, I cursed Morning every single time it appeared and gave me the choice to rise. Yet, I am grateful that my soul was stronger than the emotional and mental pain I felt at the time. Oh, so grateful, indeed, my soul desired life.
Our first breath, our last breath, and all the moments in between. Here is the other aspect about life’s flow, at least how I believe. There is not only one birth that takes place in our life and death is not an ending. Perhaps this is now where you are raising an eyebrow and starting to question, what does Charlotte mean?
Do you know that expression people say, shaken to my core when they describe an experience that scared them in some way? I like to think of the analogy of an egg or a cocoon. You know, where there is something inside that reaches a point it is time to break through. A caterpillar reaches a point it is time to burst forth and spread wings as a butterfly. Or the duckling that reaches the time to peck through the shell so that it can start growing its wings for flight.
Each of us as human beings are cocooned in the safety of our innocence, even if only for a short time. We also retreat into a cocoon of protection if the outside world becomes harsh and unkind. If we experience something traumatic, we may build a shell around ourselves to try to feel safe. Cocoons and shells are shields of armor and our defense against the perceived enemies we face. It is inside these havens we then must choose if we wish to push through into the open or stay inside where we cannot be seen. If we make the choice to push through, it is a rebirthing. For who comes out of the cocoon is now much more than who was curled up tight inside. A butterfly is still a caterpillar, once having legs to crawl now has wings to fly.
Earlier I noted when sharing about the moments in between that I do not view death as an ending. Please do not misunderstand that I make light of death, and its aftermath of grief. Please don’t think I am communicating that death does not bring profound sorrow or that losing someone or something dearest to us is easy. I share my belief, thanks in large part to my upbringing. I share based on what I have experienced through my own losing of those dear to me. I share that you may find comfort in your own story if a chapter in yours includes mourning for something or someone you can no longer physically see.
I pause for a minute to reflect before I share my experiences with you. We do not always see it when we are flowing with the river of life how there is a connection in all we go through. My father would share this wisdom with us continually. Charlotte, my dear, when it comes to certainty, there are two things on which you can trust will never change. Taxes is one, and that each of us will die one day. How ironic in that nothing is coincidence way that the first significant loss through death I would know would be of the man who tried to teach me not to be afraid.
I was 22 when my father left Earth, and I was able to utilize an inherited gift passed down to me. When my father left his body, I felt his soul move over my shoulder as he expressed gratitude for being with him on his journey. While others in my family found that cocoon in which to begin their retreat as despair started to show it can be menacing, I stepped further out into the open air, figuratively speaking. I opened my arms wide in celebration that my father was now completely free.
It is always the lens through which we choose to see.
All of us have an intuition, though not all of us choose to lean into how we might utilize our inner knowing. Me, well, I chose to heed my father’s teaching that death was part of life’s flowing.
Jack shared with you in his opening about an adventure we took on a several week hiking journey. The Appalachian Trail for 430 miles while I healed my profound grief. Carlos was his name – the one who I in tuned reached the end of his life at his own choosing. We had served together in the military. I, a medic in training. Carlos, the one to make me laugh at just about everything.
I can still feel myself standing in the kitchen 23 years after standing by Carlos for a picture while we were serving. Carlos just shot himself I said to my daughter as I felt the disbelief start to sink into me. I hurried upstairs to look for that photo buried under years of collecting. Life is miraculous like that when what you most seek rises to the surface as if laying in wait. Within seconds of searching, I was holding that photograph we had someone once take.
Dear Carlos, his heart shattered in two that he lived through deployment and his best friend did not return home beside him alive. The guilt of surviving was Carlos’s greatest battle to fight. In that moment I felt Carlos leave Earth, I also heard this whispering. Do not be afraid to love followed by his infectious laughing.
Carlos, dang him anyway for once again seeing what I couldn’t fully see. He was good like that – his way of using his own in tuning. He once asked to take a picture of me so that I could then see how I looked in his eyes. Yeah, ok Carlos, I am starting to see some of what you saw, but I still question if you needed glasses for those bad eyes. Ha ha! You were – and still are – one hell of a friend Carlos, and I am grateful our paths intertwined.
You left Earth telling me not to be afraid to love. How did you know that was my deepest fear I was not even fully aware that it was? I believe holistically mind, soul, and body, yet I could not see that my left ankle was symbolic of my fear to step forward lovingly. The ankle that connects our leg to our foot, which allows us to move forward, or not – our choice to decide. Four surgeries on my left ankle, rehabilitation, and then your death a knock on the cocoon from the outside.
One of the things I loved about you most Carlos is how you made me laugh, especially when you would not let me take the toughest times too seriously. You made sure I held a reverence for the sick and injured while I was medically caring for someone’s needs. It would have been disrespectful to laugh amidst the pain someone was experiencing. But you were right there to make sure that I provided the space someone needed to heal themselves while maintaining a balance to know I couldn’t do the healing. I could provide support, but I could not carry the sole responsibility. Each of us ultimately owns the will to heal whatever infliction we are facing.
Boy, when the torrential rains were not letting up on Jack and I on that Appalachian trail, for a split second I was not appreciating your laughter to remind me to “lighten up Charlotte” and trust the rain will ease. I had a few more “f-bombs” I could have tossed your way, you know, that is before I found I, too, could not stop laughing. That is you, always helping me balance the toughest times with a reminder the toughest times are only temporary.
Four ankle surgeries prior to this sixty-day hike, just Jack and me. One surgery to represent the brokenness in forward steps when homelessness and $17 dollars to my name was my reality. A second surgery to represent the paralysis in my steps when my daughter was taken from me by her father, and I feared for her well-being. A third surgery to represent the crippling in my walk when a second marriage revealed the intention for “I do” was not because he loved me.
And a fourth surgery the final pins to give me the ability I needed to begin moving forward with ease.
Carlos, did you send Jack to rescue me? I am blessed beyond measure to have my daughter, for in my darkest days she was my daily reason to keep living. I am here because of her anchoring. Yet perhaps you could sense I needed an additional being to give me the courage to continue to evolve and grow. A being who would teach me to live by your last words before you decided it was time to go. “Don’t be afraid to love” and if anyone is best equipped to teach that, it is my dear Jack who only knows love unconditionally. Carlos, know that I heard you and I am no longer fearing.
If you are still “listening to” my story and you are personally struggling on your journey, may you find comfort when I say I understand when the path becomes dark, thick, and overwhelming. Maybe it would be better to say I can relate, for I cannot fully understand what it is to walk in anyone else’s shoes. What I can understand is the times when things feel so incredible jumbled and confused. Someone can be talking, using the smallest of words, and still, you find it hard to understand what they say. It is hard to put into words, isn’t it, what it is like when in a dark, extremely dark place?
The best I can offer is two options, but two is better than one, don’t you think? Actually, I can offer three options, which means hopeful possibilities. One option is to take a step backwards, which still means moving. A second option is to stand still and do nothing. A third option is to take a small step forward, only an inch is necessary. Moving forward no matter the pace or distance is still stepping towards the future and away from painful history.
If I had answers, I would gladly give them for you to choose. We both know there is only one person who ultimately knows what to do. That person being you. If I sit beside you in silence, know that it is not because I do not know what to say. It is what my dear Jack has taught me is the best approach to take. Jack speaks to me, undoubtedly. We do not need to hear each other verbally talk to still hear each other’s hearts speak. Yet, there are times Jack holds the space in silence so that I can hear the voice who is best suited to guide me in my decision-making. The voice of my soul holds the wisdom and clarity I most need.
My dear friend Carlos asked that I not be afraid to love, and for the rest of my days on Earth I will do my best to love fearlessly. I will pass on my wish to you if you are reading my story. Live joyously. Yes, life’s flow can be filled with fallen logs, waterfalls, and fog so thick the river ahead cannot be seen. But, oh, just past these spots in the river are the most pristine waters in which you can float effortlessly. And believe it or not, there is a joy found in having maneuvered through the treacherous spots without sinking.
So, yes, live joyously. Live authentically. You may not be perfect, but that is the beauty of living. If we did not have anything to evolve through – if we did not have that cocoon to break out of – the rest of the world would miss out on our breathtaking wings.
Mom, it is me Dinah, now, who would like to add to your story. Jack was sweet to suggest I should also do a little talking.
When I joined the family, Jack and I had a talk about your journey. Jack shared what had been his primary focus and where he thought I could be of service to meet your needs. Jack shared that his focus had been on guiding you on your path to loving the whole of you. He felt you were now ready to start walking with joy in all that you set out to do. He also felt that with a deeper sense of self-love you were now ready to step into your purpose to guide others to find within themselves the same. Jack seems to feel that joy and giving love are two of my best traits.
I blush a little at Jack’s gracious and kind words about me. After all mom, I am just being what I think is the best way to be. Isn’t life about joy and loving? It seems too simple, but for some reason I sense there is resistance and fearing. At least that is my experience with don Gato, our Cat, who didn’t seem to understand when we met that I was only playing. I did not take it personal, though, when he struck his paw at me. I thought he was introducing me to a new way to play. I then realized when he spit at me that he wanted me to go the other way. I was not deterred though, for I knew beneath his defensiveness that don Gato was afraid love might hurt. I think he is learning to trust my love is pure.
Mom, as Jack and I were listening to you share your story both of us felt so blessed that you had once heard our crying. The gift of your hurting heart could hear each of us also needed rescuing. Mom, if Jack and I had searched the world over, we would not have found anyone better to give us the fullest meaning of home. Not just in shelter, food, and warmth, but in the greatest sense of belonging we could know. Your whole unconditional heart of fearless love, a beautiful ripple in life’s splendid flow.
I now prepare for the next several week hike of the Appalachian Trail, this time Jack will not join me in his physical body. Once again, I will be walking another section of this majestic trail along side Grief. Yet, something else will walk beside me thanks to Jack, and to Dinah who Jack has taught and trained and role-modeled the way. Joy will also accompany the trails I take.
Dear Jack, when tears flow, I promise to find laughter, too. When I am not sure if I can take one more step up a steep hill, I will think of how no hill was too steep for you. I will push forward as you taught me to do, eager anticipation to see the grand views. When the rains come, I will try as you did to see if I can shimmy and shake the droplets from my coat, but something tells me I will not do as well as you. If memory serves me right, you always dried out quicker than I was able to do.
Sweet dreams my dear Jack, where you now rest peacefully. Thank you for giving me not only the gift of you. Thank you for leading me through the unknown back to me.
Mom, we both know that I am not meant to join you on your next Appalachian Trail several hundred miles hike. We both know that we have reached “that time”.
There is something I would like us to do before I turn North, and you turn East. Before I become an angel above and you step into new beginnings.
Grab your keys and let’s go for a car ride. I know, it is hard to believe, isn’t it mom, that I am eager to get in that box car of yours while you drive. You know I have something special in mind if I am insistent not to go back inside. I will have plenty of time to rest in our home; now it’s trail time.
Thanks mom, for bringing me to my favorite place to be. You and I, these mountains, these single foot paths, the smell of pine trees. Mom, hey wait, I will be right back to lead the way. That squirrel is calling me to come play. Ok, I’m back now that the squirrel is back in his tree. I think he enjoys the exercise when I run at the heels of his feet.
We do not need to turn around yet mom; we can complete this circle we are walking. Don’t worry, you will not have to carry me back to the vehicle; I have got the needed energy to complete this loop we are traveling.
This way now mom, trust me. Let’s meander, let’s explore, trust what you cannot see. I know you are looking out for me, worried that my body may not be up for this hike. This is a special day mom; it will be alright. Ah, there is nothing better than the great outdoors and the ability to drink from this cold stream. No better moment than right now, right here, you and me.
My body is growing tired, yes, yet it is my soul that is in the lead. I would continue to keep my body going if I felt that my work on earth was not yet complete. Dinah is ready now as your next guardian in fur, and mom, so are you. I would stay as your Earth angel a little bit longer if I thought becoming your angel above was too soon. We both know, I will never not be beside every step you take. You are my heart, and I am yours, no matter distance or space.
Before we go back to the vehicle, back home, and I then begin my walk across the bridge, I would like to tell you this. You know how to walk the paths in which you can’t see what awaits. You have within you all that you need to step forward in trust and faith. You have strength, you have courage, you have fierce determination, and you have something more that is the key to everything. You have the ability to love again – yourself and others – unconditionally. You had thought your worth was nothing, and that joy was no longer what you should receive. Then, mom, you meet me!
Well, joking aside mom, though bless your heart, I know that is how you think. The teacher does not appear until the student is ready. You were ready for love, and I heard your heart through space. If I could hear your heart before we met, crossing that bridge will not hinder me from doing the same.
Ok mom let us head home so that I can see Dinah and don Gato and Teneera and Peg, too. I will whisper my “see you laters” to my favorite postal worker and the one who introduced me to you. One thing mom, that I ask of you please. Let Dinah step into the space beside you on Earth when you begin your journey with grief. She has her purpose to fulfill, too, and she is ready to teach you new things. She is ready to keep you stepping forward in joy, loving the pathways in which what lies ahead is unseen.
I love you mom, and I thank you with all my heart and soul. If I had traveled the world over, I would have found no better friend, no better mom, no better person to serve, than you. Every trail you walk, listen, and look closely. I promise, mom, there I will always be. –Written by Jack March 30, 2021
I came to you late last night, to be with you while you slept. I lay my head on your pillow, while next to me you wept. A gentle smile kissed your lips as I licked away a tear. Until your time to join me, I’ll be waiting through the years. – Author Unknown
Sincerely,
-Christine
For more inspirational stories of hope and how twenty-three co-authors have found the ability to integrate pain, trauma, sorrow, despair, and grief into living hope-filled lives, be sure and get your copy of Hope Has a Cold Nose if you haven’t already. www.amazon.com, www.balboapress.com, or www.barnesandnoble.com
If you know of someone who would appreciate this blog you have just read, please share it with them. Someone once told me that when we touch another life positively, the impact is exponential times four. The person positively impacted tells four people who tell four people who. Well, I think you understand the impact. We cannot always change the ebbs of life, but we can choose to respond by cascading ripples of
hope.
March 2021 Hope Has a Cold Nose
Dear All,
There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. – Albert Einstein
His name means “one not afraid to express his opinion”.
Once again, I am reminded of the power of word definitions and how there is more than one way to perceive a meaning of every moment we live.
For this gracious, humble, grateful, wise soul had opinions he welcomed sharing. He was open to any questions I wanted to ask. An open book. But only if I wished to listen, respectful of me if I wanted silence, or if I wanted to engage in dialogue. He was taking his cue from me.
His opinions were bold. And strong.
For they spoke of a longing for unity among divisiveness our world seems to know intimately now.
They spoke of resilience if we could bring ourselves together and not pull ourselves apart.
They spoke of truth, near seventy years of proven wisdom on a journey that knew pain and joy, fear and peace. And faith.
Oh yes, bold opinions indeed about a world that once held abundant innocence and now held the wounds of lost naivety. Or lost hope.
Now it was a world filled with self-protection against uncertainty manifesting in the forms of frustration, anxiousness, anger, and blame. This unseen virus has held us all hostage, he proclaimed as he shared his opinion that we can beat the virus if we unite. Quietly, gently, he shared how the virus has divided us. Grateful for the life he has lived in the United States since he was twelve years old, his voice conveying a pronounced deep appreciation and pride the United States is the greatest place in the world to live. Then his voice filled with that sorrowful, wishful yet accepting of what life brings wisdom as he softly said but perhaps, we’ve forgotten. From his vantage point, brokenness has filled in the hearts where they once held only belief.
He has known loss over these last twelve months, a unity with every person in the world who was not discriminated against in losing during this pandemic experience. Every person has been brought to a crossroads of letting go and choosing the individual response of what perspective they allowed to come. It isn’t his first loss, again, a universal bond that loss is something every human being knows. He was in celebration of this being day two that he was back to work after several months, and I was blessed to be the one he was taking to my home away from home on my first travel since the world momentarily stopped moving.
Among what I have loved best when ever I have traveled is the souls I meet. Those “moments” individuals who temporarily step onto our life path amidst the “seasons” and “lifetime” people who we know for a chapter of our story or for the entire book of our life. I am often blessed with the richest encounters from these individuals divinely put on my path to message affirmation or clarity I seek.
There is a childlike joy I feel as I prepare to travel, excited for the stories I might get to hear from a fortuitous encounter in an airport.
Or a shuttle bus.
Maybe that is what it is like for Ginger and Kutana when we travel to our trail. For them it is the squirrel, or chipmunk, or rabbit. Or robin or goose. Maybe it is the same squirrel that chatters in the tree at the girls as the one they saw the day before, a taunting game the three of them play. Yet, I like to think it is a different squirrel and the girls are living my joy of that brief encounter with a stranger.
Perhaps, too, if I choose to see more than I initially see, the girls and the squirrel are not divided in Nature, with the girls as potential predators and the squirrel potential prey. Perhaps they are communicating let’s play, and it is I who am introducing the division when I call to the girls to leave the squirrel alone. The girls are following a natural rhythm to life, an unconditional flow with the moments at hand, fully present. They live life as if every moment is a
Miraculous gift.
Hours before I met this dear soul that would pick me up from the airport on my first trip in thirteen months, I had been creating an idea for implementation. I desire to continue to co-author stories of hope. Twenty-three co-authors helped create Hope Has a Cold Nose, and now their stories are inspiring hope and healing to not only other military veterans. Hope and healing are cascading across the globe through the stories in HHCN.
The integration of pain, trauma, sorrow, despair, and grief into living hope-full lives. Stories of hope that have risen from pain. Stories to inspire. And something more.
To unite. For though no person lives a story exactly the same as another, each person knows loss.
And a rise up. And perhaps down again before climbing back up. Each person knows the call of their soul to not give up. And each person knows a dark night of the soul.
Hours after deciding I was feeling called to begin asking all of you, and all whom you know, and all whom they know to join me in gathering stories of hope that I will then coauthor and share through blogs and podcasts. And who knows, maybe be led to book three. (smile). Hours after deciding, and asking for a sign of affirmation, my path crossed with this dear wise soul who had an inspiring story to share.
My path intersected again with this dear gentleman three days later. I asked him if he liked to read, for I had brought with me a copy of Hope Has a Cold Nose with the intention that someone would cross my path to give it to. He graciously told me that he did not read much, as he preferred to experience life, not read books about how he should live life. I casually asked if it would make a difference if they were life stories. He thought it just might. He could probably give something like that a try. I didn’t tell him about HHCN, as my heart held the space asking if he was the one to fulfill my intention. Waiting for that inner voice to whisper yay or nay.
As he continued driving, he went on to tell me about an Andy Griffith show titled Man in a Hurry. A businessman breaks down in Mayberry, in a very anxious hurry to get his car fixed, and during the lengthy time Gomer takes to repair it, the man has a realization that life should not be lived in haste. When Gomer brings back the repaired car, the man insists it has another noise and should be looked at so that he can stay longer. I cannot begin to write the story in the same eloquence in which it was being told to me. I can’t find the words to describe the grace nor the tone of voice nor the grandfatherly wisdom of a man as I listened to what wasn’t being said. How many people in haste he has taken here, and oh please hurry sir to there. I listened to him not speak what I was certain he had intimate knowledge about through how he had lived and not read about life is precious and should be savored.
That I then learned he had suffered a heart attack five years earlier affirmed what I felt.
I asked him what was one of the greatest life lessons he had learned? That God always answers my prayers, he stated. He then shared with me about a time he was working two jobs, how his family was provided for and they were doing ok, but how he did not have the budget to take his children to Disney World as they so wished to go and do. As he worked one of his two jobs, he prayed. A couple of hours later a gentleman he was taking care of offered him tickets for two remaining days to Disney World that this gentleman and his family were now not able to use. My prayers are always answered he gratefully and humbly said.
I shared with him how I could not remember who said it, but we can Live as if every moment is a miracle. Or no moment is. He didn’t disagree as he dropped me at the door and we both said our “wish you wells”.
A few hours later, as both of us touched each other’s hearts with the gift of him receiving a copy of Hope Has a Cold Nose and a handwritten note from me, and I in return receiving his handwritten thank you note and a surprise room service delivery to enjoy a glass of wine courtesy of the hotel, I knew I had received my sign affirming implement a movement to cascade hope and healing through story sharing.
In that way that I believe every moment is a miracle.
If we choose to see.
Do not underestimate the power of gentleness. Gentleness is strength wrapped in peace and therein lies the power to change the world. – L. R. Knost
Sincerely,
-Christine
If you have a story of hope to share, please click on this link:
https://icy-lake-9077.ck.page/87467300d7
If you know of someone who would appreciate this blog you have just read, please share. Someone once told me that when we touch another life positively, the impact is exponential times four. The person positively impacted tells four people who tell four people who. Well, I think you understand the impact. Let us pay forward the power of
Inspired hope.
March 16, 2021 Hope Has a Cold Nose
Dear readers,
For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice. – T.S. Eliot
The power of perception,
The power of our starting points.
Perhaps when you read the quote by T.S. Eliot you immediately thought of 2020. Maybe your first thought was of what many are referring to of this week. It marks the one-year anniversary in which life became “unprecedented times”, times unlike anything any of us had ever known.
Or maybe you are still trying to find some sense of certainty amidst a long journey of uncertainty and reading next year’s words await another voice strikes a nerve. How can you even begin to think of 2022 when I am still trying to find a foothold with 2021 might be the words you would like to mutter to me.
The power of our starting points.
In how we choose – consciously or subconsciously – to see and hear.
Ginger rescued us in December of 2014. Ginger came into our lives approximately 3 months after our dear Roo left Earth, and about 9 months earlier than our plan to get another dog. Roo was not a service dog, but she was my best friend and my soul mate through a significant walk of darkness on my life journey. Prior to Roo’s cancer diagnosis, my husband and I had thought we would always have a German Shorthair Pointer as part of our home. When Roo left Earth, I was certain any future fur that decorated our home could not be the German Shorthair kind.
Roo sent Ginger to us, in all Ginger’s glorious mixture of maybe whippet, maybe retriever, maybe the shelter just didn’t know for sure, but certainly no semblance of Shorthair in Ginger’s wonderful tan and white coat. My husband and I knew we were gaining a complete home again, but we did not know we had gained a thief. Ginger stole our hearts and proved to me that we are not just blessed with one lifetime soul mate. We can be blessed to have more than one, if we choose to open our hearts, see, and allow.
Fast forward to November 2019 and I find myself driving to Indiana “just” to look at a female puppy with the potential she would come home to be my husband’s pheasant finding partner. I enter a building and look down into a meet and greet pen containing two puppies. One is bouncing like Tigger, and the other is sitting watching “Tigger” and watching the kennel owner and me with these most intent, watchful, drink it all in eyes.
I quickly learn Tigger has a destiny with owners a few states away, and I think oh, good luck dear owners making that long drive home with “Tigger”! I bend down, reach out my hand palm facing up to the other puppy, who very quietly, gently, puts her chin in my hand and I think she is the one! She will be perfect as my husband’s bird finding partner.
After all, that was my starting point. Finding my husband his bird finding partner.
Not another Shorthair to steal my heart.
I am not sure who has been the ringleader in further teaching me what Roo initially started. There is always more than we initially hear and see. Actually, I think it might just be a conspiring among all three; a certain Shorthair pointing angel above, Ginger, and a joyful, curious, comical, scatterer of shorthairs throughout our entire house again – aka Kutana – who has not put her quiet, gentle, chin in my hand since that first day we did meet!
Who knew she finds nibbling fingers on a hand as if they are a pacifier much more comforting, Or fun!
Always more than we initially see! {smile}{laughter}
Recently I was in dialogue with someone who was feeling significantly conflicted with another individual. As I listened to her share this part of her story, I found myself dancing that dance of grace between opposites as I discerned if I would be demonstrating compassion and understanding by sharing a part of my story or if I would be robbing this person of what was most important in our moments of dialogue – that her story was the only story that mattered. If I shared, would I be offering a reframing that she might see her story differently? Or would I be sending a message that I was listening to talk and not listening to listen?
I opted to share a part of my story, which was about a person I had been significantly conflicted with in my life. I shared about how this person was far from being my close friend, yet I had come to view this person as my best teacher – for we learn best through opposites after all, and we learn best when it is a challenge, or so I believe. I shared how at one point, after this person was no longer in my life, I came to understand that during our relationship, when I was certain I was not good enough to be this person’s best friend, this person had felt during our relationship they were not good enough to be mine. Though we thought we were on opposite sides of a spectrum, we were both starting from the same place of “not enough”.
I cannot help thinking that so many of us think we are starting from different places with others, when in actuality, we may both be feeling a fundamental similarity.
Like.
Worthiness.
Or not.
At the very beginning of the pandemic’s unfolding, I was deeply moved by a post a stranger had shared on social media in which this stranger was struggling with how much attention was being given to what was at the time a very small percentage of deaths related to the pandemic. Their struggle was because in comparison, the number of deaths at that time did not begin to compare to the twenty-two veteran suicidal deaths per day. Their starting place was why aren’t more people upset about the level of hopelessness that is stealing life?
As someone who deeply values hope, whose heart hurts at the thought that people reach a point in which they feel more hope can be found in not living, I can appreciate the starting point for this stranger. I recently read that every 40 seconds someone in the world dies by suicide. In the time it has taken me to write what I have thus far, that is 135 lives.
If you have taken 15 minutes to read this far, that is 22 lives.
There is always more to hear and see. What else can we see and hear to bring more hope into the world?
Perhaps new starting places in how we are listening and in what our eyes are looking for.
Each one of us sees in others what we carry in our own hearts – Ralph Waldo Emerson
May wellbeing continue to hold you in its tight embrace.
Sincerely,
-Christine
P.S. I would like to ask each of you for your help. Let’s pay it forward. If you find even one sentence in this update inspiring in some way, please share it with another person who comes to your mind. In doing so, I cannot help thinking we cascade further ripples of hope into the world. In advance, thank YOU for sharing!
Also, I had the sacred privilege of being interviewed by the Doggy Diva Show for a podcast that aired this past Saturday, March 13th – Canine Veteran’s Day! Thank you to the Doggy Diva Show for featuring Hope Has a Cold Nose!
You can listen by clicking this link below:
https://audioacrobat.com/play/WMJbRv8f
Listening, Empathy, Awareness & Dignity: LEADership Through Storytelling & Companionship
To purchase Hope Has a Cold Nose:
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=christine+hassing&ref=nb_sb_noss_1
Barnes and Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hope-has-a-cold-nose-christine-hassing/1137781095?ean=9781982255282
Balboa Press:
https://www.balboapress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/811622-hope-has-a-cold-nose
or you can contact me: https://christinehassing.com/contact/
For additional impactful and powerful information regarding the healing impact of service dogs, please visit https://www.northwestbattlebuddies.org/a-vision-of-hope/.
February 2021 Hope Has a Cold Nose
Dear Hope Has a Cold Nose readers,
“Dog Lessons for People – Be loyal and faithful. Play every day. Drink lots of water. Forgive quickly. Avoid biting when a growl will do. Sit close & listen. Follow your instincts. Give more than you receive. Take naps. Be a best friend. Love unconditionally.” – Author Unknown
If you have read the acknowledgments in the last pages of Hope Has a Cold Nose, then you were able to learn about how, on the journey of co-creating HHCN with twenty-three authors, I was led to many wonderful organizations who are each honoring the call to serve others in need – both human souls and those souls wrapped in fur. The blessings of my path intersecting with extraordinary organizations has not stopped now that HHCN is published. Most recently I was interviewed for a podcast by the Doggy Diva Show that will air Saturday, March 13th. To learn more about what – I should say – who – inspired the creation of the Doggy Diva Show, please visit https://www.thedoggydiva.com. I will simply say, never underestimate the smallest of beings to cast the biggest ripples of positive change. Dear Sophia made her story matter when another dear soul heard her cry for help, and together they created a way to give purpose to a story that began in heartache and ended with great unconditional love.
Recently I saw a visual post on social media that displayed a person holding up a plywood board to display a section of grass beneath it not buried by snow. The picture further showed a chihuahua standing on the grass and the caption was related to an idea people could create something similar so that their dogs would not hate going outside for their restroom breaks in deep snow. As I was preparing to scroll past this picture I saw one person’s comment that read I don’t think dogs have hate in their make-up…
I started thinking about Ginger and Kutana over these past couple of weeks as we, like so many others, experienced frigid temperatures, and continual falling snow. Ginger likes her heat. Completely covered under a blanket or basking in the warmth of the summer sunshine outside, or, as I am writing this, having her sister lay completely on top of her, is her ideas of heaven. Well, maybe not the sister laying completely on top of her part, though her eyes closed and her soft snoring tells me she sees it as a gateway to happiness.
Now Kutana, on the other hand, whose lean body should be the one to signal to her eager spirit um, nope, we don’t need to go outside and bounce into drifted snow head first, can’t wait for the temperature to reach an acceptable level to safely go outside. Is it time? Is it time now? Mom, do you hear that? Outside wants me to come run, hike, and play? Outside wants me to dive head first into that snow drift RIGHT OVER THERE! Can we now, please?! PRETTY PLEASE! Unlike her big sister Ginger who demonstrates an impeccable braking system at the doorway when her initial desire to go outside is met with the rush of cold air, Kutana seems to find a renewed energy to that burst of refreshing take your breath away air.
Kutana seems to run to her coat I hold in my hands. Well, maybe run is a tad exaggeration, but she certainly does not resist. There is no slight head hang that seems to communicate aww, shucks mom do I have to? She does not communicate with her body that her pink fluffy coat makes her look silly or that she is too grown up for such frills. It is her hall pass to outside, and outside matters far more than any risk her mom dresses her funny in front of the birds and squirrels.
Ginger, on the other hand, is a very good communicator with her body that very clearly lets me know her orange coat makes her look less like the royalty she is certain that she is. My dear Ginger is a girl after my own heart when it comes to a little bit of stubbornness, and there is no misunderstanding on my part in her decision to show me a little bit of her essence when I reach for that orange coat. Now, granted, if she has had any preview to what awaits her outside, then in her mind, the orange coat I am holding is a hall pass, straight to the detention room. And she has no problem deciding to become immovable weight on her ottoman when I am trying to adorn her in her orange attire.
Yet, to the comment the individual stated on social media, Ginger has always read my heart to know that if I am insisting that she goes outside, it is for her own health and well-being. She may not appreciate colder weather over her ideals of warmth, but in addition to her essence of a stubborn streak, her very core is unconditional love. Her heart does not know hate. Nor does Kutana’s.
I was in recent dialogue with someone and our conversation turned to this sentiment. If you start from a good place in your heart, then even if the conversation you need to have with someone else is a tough conversation to have, you will be honoring the reason your paths have intersected. You will be the messenger the person needed for that individual to then make a choice in how they wish to respond, learn, and potentially grow.
By “good place in the heart”, I think of things like non-judgment, unconditional listening, compassion, empathy, generosity, gratitude, joy, and kindness. I have this perspective. We are souls in human form who are giving our lifetimes to grow in our experiences with these “good place in the heart” things. We are also given the capacity to fear, to feel anxious, to be frustrated, to hurt, to know anger, to grieve, to know unimaginable loss. We are given lessons in which we learn such tools as bravery, vulnerability, determination, perseverance, resilience. And in every choice that we make through every experience we have, we choose to step closer towards conditional empathy or conditional kindness, or closer towards unconditional compassion or unconditional love.
Where are you at in the steps on your journey?
I hope your path finds you closer to unconditional.
As recipient.
And as giver.
What if others could say of us, I don’t think that person has conditional in their make-up…
Together we are all on a journey called life. We are a little broken and a little shattered inside. Each one of us is aspiring to make it to the end. None is deprived of pain here and we have all suffered in our own ways. I think our journey is all about healing ourselves and healing each other in our own special ways. Let’s just help each other put all those pieces back together and make it to the end more beautifully. Let us help each other survive. ~ Ram Dass
I hold the intention that wellbeing keeps you in safekeep.
Sincerely,
-Christine
My gratitude to Connecting Vets for their support of the power of hope!
My gratitude to We Are the Mighty for their support of the power of hope!
My gratitude to Southern Living for their support of the power of hope!
https://www.southernliving.com/news/hope-has-a-cold-nose-service-dogs-military-veterans-ptsd
For an engaging webinar facilitated by Dr. Alan Westfield, with sharing by Dr. Adrian Popa, Michael Ortiz, Taylor Rowell, and me, please click on the link below:
Listening, Empathy, Awareness & Dignity: LEADership Through Storytelling & Companionship
To purchase Hope Has a Cold Nose:
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=christine+hassing&ref=nb_sb_noss_1
Barnes and Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hope-has-a-cold-nose-christine-hassing/1137781095?ean=9781982255282
Balboa Press:
https://www.balboapress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/811622-hope-has-a-cold-nose
or you can contact me: https://christinehassing.com/contact/
For additional impactful and powerful information regarding the healing impact of service dogs, please visit https://www.northwestbattlebuddies.org/a-vision-of-hope/.
January, 2021 Hope Has a Cold Nose
Dear Hope Has a Cold Nose readers,
Every child is born in the garden of humanity as a flower. Each flower differs from every other flower. There are many messages in our society that tell us, even when we’re young people, that there’s something wrong with us and that if we just buy the right product, or look a certain way, or have the right partner, that will fix it. As grown-ups, we can remind young people that they’re already beautiful as they are; they don’t have to be someone else. – Thich Nhat Hanh in How to Love.
I am humbled, honored, and grateful that Hope Has a Cold Nose is being shared to high school students at a local community north of where I live as well as to third grade children in the school district I attended when I was growing up. Young lives being positively influenced by service for others, wisdom, resilience, and hope exhibited in each of the co-authors’ stories.
On one of the morning runs with Ginger and Kutana, I was reflecting on this special ripple that is taking place in which the stories of Hope Has a Cold Nose can inspire those who are still at a most impressionable age in comparison to those of us as adults who still form impressions, but who have already banked within ourselves a significant number of imprints that impact how we see and hear.
Ginger and Kutana have beautiful cold noses. And. They have very powerful noses that create moments in which they might go a tad astray on our runs. Suddenly. Now with Ginger the only ramification is my voice calling her back from what we affectionally call “chasing the bears”. Not bears, literally. Please don’t worry. Ginger has this routine in the mornings when my husband leaves for work in which she insists she must exit the door before him and bark in all directions of our yard as to ward off anything – or anyone – she is certain is lurking to get my husband if she does not make sure it is safe for him. After all, that racoon in a tree might just climb down and get her dad! {smile} My husband and I refer to her gesture as “chasing the bears away”.
So, if a sudden whiff to Ginger’s nose sends her into a run and or bark mode, she gets called back with an assuring voice that all is safe. Now Kutana, on the other hand, is the silent one. No barking. The only ramification is to my rib cage and a rapid readjustment of my footsteps in the middle of our run. Why my rib cage? Kutana and I are joined with a waist leash because, as Kutana’s trainer once told me, she has an almost intuitive like nose. It can smell things that none of us can see, let alone smell. And dear K is also very driven when she gets something on her mind. Translation. The ears turn off when the determination kicks in. If she were not leashed with me, she would not hear the hark to come back right away.
I do have a tiny bit of influence to avoid where these rich aromas are when we are running in mother nature. I can steer us to certain trails so minimize where the night critters have walked before us. I also strive to use positive reinforcement. Good girls. Good, good girls! That’s my girls! I am so proud of you! The bears, racoons, deer, and owls hear echoing through the woods as they watch two reflective coats lower to the ground and a headlamp running through their homes. (We typically run before daylight.)
Ginger conveys her I am? Yay! Thanks mom. Okay, I’ll keep doing this with a turned head, smile, and this little footstep dance I cannot begin to describe as she goes into a happy trot. Kutana, still an eager puppy in learning gives me the hmmm. what? You want something else? No? Oh, you mean do what we are doing right here. Ok, if you say so. Her tail raised high in pride, she turns her head back around and forward we go on the trail.
On the flip hand are their responses if they hear No! In addition to those beautiful cold noses are taste buds for mother nature that I am so grateful I do not have like dogs do! (smile) If these “discovering” moments happen for what the girls believe is cavier calling to them, Ginger puts her ears back in a way that is a blend of sorry mom and you ruined the potential fun mom. Kutana hangs her ears down in a way that communicates ooohh, mom is not happy with that little move I just tried to make, I guess I better listen.
What we say, and how we say it, in response to the moments that are teachable.
Which is every moment we live. At least how I choose to believe.
Recently I had the privilege of providing happy birthday wishes through video to a friend’s daughter who was turning thirteen. Her mom – my friend – had invited a large group of people to post messages on a private social media page so that her daughter would receive a big celebration for this milestone birthday since an in-person celebration was not possible. My focus in the message was on all the ways this amazing young soul is going to help the world transform. I have already been witnessing her do so and I am certain she has only just begun to make a positive impact.
What message are we providing to young lives regarding the pandemic and all that our world has experienced over the past twelve months? Are we communicating that these fledgling souls have chosen to enter this lifetime when they have so that they can be the change agents for our world’s transformation?
Or are we focusing them on all that they have lost?
Are we holding tightly to what was, fearful that because children did not experience life as we did, the future is destined to not be as promising?
Or are we fostering in youth that the sky is the limit for them and that the old systems that are not working as they did are crumbling so that the youth can create new systems that are calling to be built even better than what we have known or experienced?
On the journey of writing Hope Has a Cold Nose my path intersected with a veteran who was a peer support specialist for other veterans. He shared about a research study he had read in which individuals who had struggled significantly with pain, trauma, sorrow, or despair were individuals who had also experienced a traumatic event as a child but had not been able to process that event in a positive healing way.
All that 2020 held introduced a traumatic event.
For adults and youth both.
We need to honor the grief. That is part of the positive healing journey.
Yet, in what we say, and how we say it, are we fostering positive healing and new beginnings?
Are we creating hope?
If you want to change the world, you have to change the metaphor – Joseph Campbell
May wellbeing continue to be yours.
Sincerely,
-Christine
My gratitude to Connecting Vets for their support of the power of hope!
My gratitude to We Are the Mighty for their support of the power of hope!
My gratitude to Southern Living for their support of the power of hope!
https://www.southernliving.com/news/hope-has-a-cold-nose-service-dogs-military-veterans-ptsd
For an engaging webinar facilitated by Dr. Alan Westfield, with sharing by Dr. Adrian Popa, Michael Ortiz, Taylor Rowell, and me, please click on the link below:
Listening, Empathy, Awareness & Dignity: LEADership Through Storytelling & Companionship
To purchase Hope Has a Cold Nose:
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=christine+hassing&ref=nb_sb_noss_1
Barnes and Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hope-has-a-cold-nose-christine-hassing/1137781095?ean=9781982255282
Balboa Press:
https://www.balboapress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/811622-hope-has-a-cold-nose
or you can contact me: https://christinehassing.com/contact/
For additional impactful and powerful information regarding the healing impact of service dogs, please visit https://www.northwestbattlebuddies.org/a-vision-of-hope/.
https://www.hopehasacoldnose.com/,
https://studio.youtube.com/video/VD5a8wnL1sI/edit
Christine Hassing (@ChrisHassing) / Twitter
Christine Hassing (@hassingchristine) • Instagram photos and videos
JANUARY 10, 2021 – HOPE HAS A COLD NOSE
Dear Hope Has a Cold Nose readers,
Once upon no time there was a Little Soul who said…” I know who I am!” …And the Little Soul shouted, “I’m the Light!”
But soon, knowing who it was not enough. The Little Soul felt stirrings inside, and now wanted to be who it was.
… “being the Light is being special, and being special has a lot of parts to it. It is special to be kind. It is special to be gentle. It is special to be creative. It is special to be patient…Can you think of any other ways it is special to be?” The Little Soul sat quietly for a moment. “I can think of lots of ways to be special!” the Little Soul then exclaimed. “It is special to be helpful. It is special to be sharing. It is special to be friendly. It is special to be considerate of others!” …That’s what is means to be the Light.”
“I know what I want to be, I know what I want to be!” the Little Soul announced with great excitement. “I want to be the part of special called ‘forgiving’
…just then a Friendly Soul stepped forward from the crowd. “Not to worry, Little Soul,” the Friendly Soul said, “I will help you.” …the Little Soul brightened. “But what can you do?” “Why, I can give you someone to forgive!” “You can?” “Certainly!” chirped the Friendly Soul. “I can come into your next lifetime and do something for you to forgive.”
“But why? Why would you do that?” the Little Soul asked…What could cause you to want to slow down your vibration to such a speed that your bright Light would become dark and dense? What could cause you—who are so light that you dance upon the stars and move throughout the Kingdom with the speed of your thought—to come into my life and make yourself so heavy that you could do this bad thing?” “Simple,” the Friendly Soul said. “I would do it because I love you.”
“And so,” the Friendly Soul explained a little further, “I will come into your next lifetime and be the ‘bad one’ this time. I will do something really terrible, and then you can experience yourself as the One Who Forgives.”
Then the Friendly Soul seemed to turn serious, and said in a quiet voice… I have but one favor to ask of you in return.”
“In the moment that I strike you and smite you,” the Friendly Soul replied, “in the moment that I do the worst to you that you could possible imagine—in that very moment… The Friendly Soul became quieter still. “Remember Who I Really Am.” – Neale Donald Walsch, from The Little Soul and the Sun
On New Year’s Eve I wrote about that inner whisper that urged me to write a post the last day of 2020. Once again, that inner whisper nudged not to wait for the end of January. Perhaps it is because I am wondering what each of the co-authors would wisely share with me if I was writing the continuation of their stories since they and I last co-created what you now read in Hope Has a Cold Nose. I wonder what they would say about the continued evolution the United States is going through.
Or perhaps that inner whisper is nudging me to write because in that dance of grace between opposites each of us are experiencing daily, if not hourly or moment by moment, my heart feels called to hold tightly to the preserver of hope that it may counter the hopelessness I perceive many others feel is floating in the waters around them right now.
Or maybe it is a simple as I feel joy in writing when that whisper nudges, for I have come to know that if I listen there will be at least one sentence in what I have written that touches and inspires one person’s heart at the “right time”. And that brings me the greatest joy if I can inspire someone else who may be in need of
Hope.
A couple of days ago Kutana and I were sharing one of our near daily experiences in which she sits beside me, reaches out at least one of her paws in her cat impersonation gesture, and proceeds to pull – very strongly at that – my arm or my hand to her. Sometimes I get her endearment of love gesture, too, as she manages to pull one of my fingers into her mouth to nibble it very softly. Now this is where you might question that it is a love gesture. I can assure you there is no skin puncture or even a remnant tooth dent. Since a puppy it has been like a pacifier to her to be able to occasionally grab for a finger. Anyway. She was pulling my arm, and we were dancing that familiar Just a moment K which seems to be heard by her pull my arm more K.
This time instead of seeing Kutana asking for what she needed, I recognized she was a messenger providing what I needed. I had additional to-do’s awaiting me that I needed to complete by a certain time. In the moment Kutana was pulling my arm, I was sidetracked and had the risk of shifting energy from easy-going on-time to scrambling not to be late. Just as the co-authors in Hope Has a Cold Nose share about the “knowing” of their hope with fur and cold noses, Kutana was guiding me. It was not her needs she was looking out for. It was mine.
Unconditional.
Wisdom.
Hearing without words.
Over these past few days, the words that keep running through my mind the loudest are people just want to be heard.
That and everyone one of us are responsible.
We can listen from a place of you and I and them and us. We can communicate our perspective with as much conviction in what we believe as the person(s) we vehemently disagree with their perspective, not recognizing that we are not on opposing sides. Both they and us are coming from the exact same place. Both wish to be heard and valued for what we believe.
One is the Little Soul, and one is the Friendly Soul who are fulfilling an agreement.
Made from unconditional love.
As souls.
A few years ago, someone very instrumental in Hope Has a Cold Nose coming to be taught me a very powerful tool about the power of choice. In this teaching, he also utilized a quote by Victor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor and author of Man’s Search for Meaning, who wrote: Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.
Life may bring us much we cannot control. We have complete control to choose our response.
To this place within the gap where we need to stand in order to move things forward. How do we stand there? What do we do to stand there? We have to reach deep inside ourselves. We have to practice the powers that open the heart, that open the mind…that invite the soul into being. Parker Palmer – Standing in the Tragic Gap (March 2009)
To see that underneath our beliefs, our histories, our values, and our passions
We are the same.
May you and those you hold dearly continue to be held tightly in wellbeing. May hope walk beside every step you take. Namaste’
If you pour a handful of salt into a cup of water, the water becomes undrinkable. But if you pour the salt into the river, people can continue to draw the water to cook, wash, and drink. The river is immense, and it has the capacity to receive, embrace, and transform. When are hearts are small, our understanding and compassion are limited, and we suffer. We can’t accept or tolerate others and their shortcomings, and we demand that they change. But when our hearts expand, these same things don’t make us suffer anymore. We have a lot of understanding and compassion and can embrace others. We accept others as they are, and then they have a chance to transform. So the big question is, how do we help our hearts to grow? – Thich Nhat Hanh
Sincerely,
-Christine
My gratitude to We Are the Mighty for their support of the power of hope!
My gratitude to Southern Living for their support of the power of hope!
https://www.southernliving.com/news/hope-has-a-cold-nose-service-dogs-military-veterans-ptsd
For an engaging webinar facilitated by Dr. Alan Westfield, with sharing by Dr. Adrian Popa, Michael Ortiz, Taylor Rowell, and me, please click on the link below:
Listening, Empathy, Awareness & Dignity: LEADership Through Storytelling & Companionship
To purchase Hope Has a Cold Nose:
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=christine+hassing&ref=nb_sb_noss_1
Barnes and Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hope-has-a-cold-nose-christine-hassing/1137781095?ean=9781982255282
Balboa Press:
https://www.balboapress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/811622-hope-has-a-cold-nose
or you can contact me: https://christinehassing.com/contact/
For additional impactful and powerful information regarding the healing impact of service dogs, please visit https://www.northwestbattlebuddies.org/a-vision-of-hope/.
https://www.hopehasacoldnose.com/,
https://studio.youtube.com/video/VD5a8wnL1sI/edit
Christine Hassing (@ChrisHassing) / Twitter
Christine Hassing (@hassingchristine) • Instagram photos and videos
December 31, 2020 – Hope Has a Cold Nose Update
Dear Hope Has a Cold Nose readers,
We often wait for a miracle or an extraordinary event, not realizing that we are being given more than the ordinary in the simplicity of each day. A person facing loss starts to see beauty where their eyes and their heart were clouded by a to-do list or by a sense tomorrow is always guaranteed. When their perspective shifts, what begins to matter most is what someone else still takes for granted. To watch a sunset—to really watch a sunset—is nothing short of beautiful and extraordinary…If we choose to see. – Christine Hassing, To the Moon and Back to Me: What I Learned from Four Running Feet
Though a Hope Has a Cold Nose update was already shared for December, I kept hearing that inner whisper, write an update as we stand in the last day of this year. Not one to ignore that inner whisper for I have come to learn it carries wisdom, I write with this intention. As you stand at the doorway of 2020 and prepare to take a step down the hall to the door marked 2021, may you find inspiration, peace, or hope – or a combination of all three – in the words you are about to read.
On Christmas Eve my mom sent a text to my sister and I recommending that we listen to a new song released recently by Dolly Parton, I Still Believe. The lyrics include these words:
I believe there’s a day and it’s coming soon
We will unmask this face of doom
Walk hand in hand in perfect harmony
And I believe there are good deeds to be sowed
Nurtured with love to make them grow
I believe that faith can heal our bodies’ minds and souls
Yes, that’s what I believe – Dolly Parton, “I Still Believe” lyrics, 2020
Among my reactions to this song, I was struck with the viewpoint that Dolly Parton was sharing her perspective, but she was not pushing her beliefs. She was planting a seed for those who might benefit from the words she felt called to sing.
Perhaps I was reacting to this song this way because of a seed that had been planted within me just days prior. Actually, maybe it wasn’t so much a seed that had been planted within me as it was a gentle mirror held up as a reminder to walk the talk of my words meet people where they are at, not where we are at.
I had been in conversation with someone very dear in my life and we were talking about a conversation universal to many this year. What the holidays would be and not be compared to history and past traditions. At a certain point, this individual spoke a wisdom, I guess it comes down to each person needs to make and find peace with what is, each in their own way. We can offer suggestions, but we cannot make someone else feel differently than they do.
Another dance of grace between opposites. One the one side of the pendulum swing, as I believe, is how each of us are students and teachers for one another. When we fully show up as ourselves, we fulfill the reason our paths intersect with others we meet on our life journeys. Fully showing up does not mean that the interaction is conflict free. It means that we are honoring the reason our paths are meant to cross, and we are giving each other the freedom of choice in responding, and the gift of choice in what we each decide to learn. On the other side of the pendulum swing is knowing when to listen to listen and when to listen to speak. When should we listen without speaking because the other individual only needs us to listen? And when should we listen to speak because we may have the “exact” words someone else needs in that moment.
Yes, indeed, the dance of grace between opposites.
My heart empathizes with many who cannot leave the doorway of 2020 soon enough. I know there has been significant loss felt by many. Because I am also one who believes in giving purpose to loss, I have made the choice this year to look for the gifts…to look for each 86,400 moments in a day that have offered what I like to call a golden nugget.
I think of Christmas morning and the walk I took first with Kutana and then secondly with Ginger. Usually, I take both together for our runs and walks, but on days that my husband does not have to work, Ginger likes to curl up with him and Kutana likes to greet Nature early.
Kutana and I greeted a fresh blanket of snow before daylight, using the snow as our beacon of light to see our trail. Kutana, myself, the sound of wind, and the even more peaceful sound of Nature’s quietude. After our walk we stopped at the window of my parents, each offering the other virtual hugs, kisses, and Merry Christmas exclamations. Kutana sat beside me, her joyous energy, and her desire to be a “good girl” her dance of grace between opposites. Her compromise was to sit with her tail making its own version of a snow angel as her eyes and her body eagerly communicated hello, I am so happy to see you, and I love you.
A couple of hours later after breakfast, Ginger and I took our walk. Daylight was now the beacon on our path, accompanied still by the wind and Nature’s peace. Again, we paused at the window of my parents. This time I placed treats on the windowsill, and “Grammy” (my mom) prepared to hand one to Ginger as Ginger sang her song that she does which communicated her version of hello, I am so happy to see you, and I love you.
We often wait for a miracle or an extraordinary event, not realizing that we are being given more than the ordinary in the simplicity of each day…To watch a sunset—to really watch a sunset—is nothing short of beautiful and extraordinary…If we choose to see. Fully present with the moments that life brings, choosing to see a day entrenched in traditions with new eyes, and through the eyes of unconditional love that sees this day as special as every day. Gratitude for health and well-being of family and touched by the beauty of love that transcends distance and space.
Among the many gifts I’ve been given in 2020, I have found a deeper appreciation for what is in front of me. A warmer winter day and the opportunity to sit outside on my mom’s porch drinking hot chocolate has become more meaningful than the tradition we implemented a few years ago to share breakfast or lunch together one day every other week. Please do not misunderstand that I think less of those times. On the contrary, this year has added value to those experiences and memories. Yet, I found myself more present with sitting on the porch, drinking in the shared time as a sacred gift to hold gently, not thinking about the next to-do’s, not thinking about what I would make in two weeks when it was my turn to cook breakfast or lunch. The time was now, and now was all I needed to fill my soul with joy, gratitude, and love.
Note to self. Dear Ginger and Kutana, I think I’m starting to learn a tiny fraction of what you teach me every day.
I was handed additional gifts this week in very kind and gracious words shared with me about the tears that have been shed reading stories in Hope Has a Cold Nose. In these kind words has also been the gift of hearing about the readers’ increased aware nesses. Both readers are civilians, and now they have an increased understanding, and an increased empathy. I am grateful for how these extraordinary stories have yet again positively touched hearts and lives.
Next year promises 31,536,000 moments to the calendar. How these moments get filled up is a choice each of us will make for ourselves. My intention includes that I will continue to be more fully present with what is, seeing the moments I am given as extraordinary where perhaps I once took for granted what was being offered to me. May I not go back to sleep.
My wish is that each of you will find through these twenty-three extraordinary authors in Hope Has a Cold Nose the hope, resilience, and inspiration you need to flourish in joy, peace, and love on the other side of the door marked 2021. Blessings to each of you and those you hold most dear.
Don’t Go Back to Sleep
The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth
Across the doorsill
Where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.
-Rumi
Sincerely,
-Christine
My gratitude to We Are the Mighty for their support of the power of hope!
My gratitude to Southern Living for their support of the power of hope!
https://www.southernliving.com/news/hope-has-a-cold-nose-service-dogs-military-veterans-ptsd
For an engaging webinar facilitated by Dr. Alan Westfield, with sharing by Dr. Adrian Popa, Michael Ortiz, Taylor Rowell, and me, please click on the link below:
Listening, Empathy, Awareness & Dignity: LEADership Through Storytelling & Companionship
To purchase Hope Has a Cold Nose:
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=christine+hassing&ref=nb_sb_noss_1
Barnes and Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hope-has-a-cold-nose-christine-hassing/1137781095?ean=9781982255282
Balboa Press:
https://www.balboapress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/811622-hope-has-a-cold-nose
or you can contact me: https://christinehassing.com/contact/
Feel free to contact me with any comments or questions. I welcome exchanging in dialogue with you. I can be reached by visiting https://www.hopehasacoldnose.com/, https://christinehassing.com/ or you can email me at ckhred30@gmail.com
P.S. For additional impactful and powerful information regarding the healing impact of service dogs, please visit https://www.northwestbattlebuddies.org/a-vision-of-hope/.
December 2020 – hope Has a Cold Nose Update
Dear Hope Has a Cold Nose readers,
One of the most satisfying experiences I know is just fully to appreciate an individual in the same way I appreciate a sunset. When I look at a sunset…I don’t find myself saying “soften the orange a little on the right hand corner, and put a little more purple in the cloud cover”…I don’t try to control a sunset. I watch it with awe as it unfolds. It is this open, receptive attitude which is necessary to truly perceive something as it is. – Carl Rogers
Ginger and Kutana. Fur and cold noses that complete home, and our hearts. Ginger entered our lives when my heart needed unconditional acceptance of its sorrows. She gladly stepped into that role, and found healing for her own grieving, too. Ginger matches the rhythm of my soul that finds itself inspired when in stillness and quietude. When I am in nature or in silence, I am often my most creative. Ginger’s calm and soft disposition holds the space for this tranquility. Kutana entered our lives destined to awaken the child within each of us. Her curiosity and her joy are infectious in the best kind of ways. Well, at least most of the time when puppyhood isn’t too much in the driver’s seat. {smile}
When Ginger, Kutana, and I are on one of our morning runs, a collar light is not needed for Ginger. Her white and tan fur shine as a beacon of light on behalf of the glow of the moon and the twinkle of the stars. If I do not see Kutana’s eyes reflected against my headlamp, I do not see Kutana. She moves as the last remnants of night move before daybreak. At one with the darkness, she messages that nightfall is not a barrier to seeing next steps.
We learn best through opposites and how well we dance in the middle is our grace. I am blessed with two great opposite teachers in fur who continual educate me in how to be with the ebbs and flows of the river of life.
If I didn’t already have reason to be in awe of these teachers in fur, I marvel at their capability to continually see with new eyes. On our morning runs and evening walks we follow trail loops. Each time we are on a path we have been before, both Ginger and Kutana explore the trail as if it is the first time they are experiencing it. A day apart, hours apart, minutes apart. The lapse in time not important. Each moment is a new moment that holds the promise of new smells and new things to see.
Recently I had a moment in which I had gotten in my own way, so to speak, with what I was feeling from an interaction with someone I hold very dear. Instead of seeing from the other person’s perspective, I looked through the lens of my childhood emotions. Instead of letting go and letting be, I held tightly to history. In the moment, history felt safer. I wanted to rally against the certainty of change to keep close the certainty of what had been. Like the running trail, I was traveling a circle of life, only I was struggling to see with new eyes as Ginger and Kutana would.
In that moment I was struggling to unconditionally accept. Ginger and Kutana lean in fully. To what they are experiencing. To unconditional acceptance. To love. They meet my husband and I everyday where we are it in what we are feeling and in what we are thinking, and they do not ask anything of us except to be allowed to love us exactly as we are. Ok, sure, they also ask for food, water, and time outside. And cuddling. They also like cuddling. {smile} Their main request of us is…love. To be recipients of and to give in the purest, most unconditional, form there is.
This interaction with someone I hold dear gave me pause to think about the twenty-three extraordinary co-authors in Hope Has a Cold Nose. I thought about how hard it is for us as humans to not “get in our own way” when we are interacting with others, to not bring our histories and our fears into what we feel or how we are listening to what the other person is saying. I reflected on the wisdom in these stories about how meaningful it is to the co-authors that the service dogs offer such significant non-judgment. Listening ears, open heart, acceptance.
These co-authors are buoyed up during the hard moments by their service dogs for many reasons including they know their service dogs depend on and are counting on them. Yet, these co-authors do not fear their service dogs will verbally speak words that are filled with expectations, shoulds, and should nots – i.e., words that each of us as humans speak that contain conditions that meet our own needs and not just the needs of the person we interact with.
Individuals are struggling to be heard. What if all of us paused speaking for a moment? Instead of the world growing silent, perhaps we would hear more.
Individuals are struggling to be seen. What if all of us turned 360 degrees where we stood and looked with new eyes? Instead of staying in place, perhaps we would take leaps forward.
Last month I communicated how I believe that the extraordinary stories in Hope Has a Cold Nose will inspire more than hope for twenty-two lives a day. I believe these stories will inspire hope for anyone who is struggling with pain, trauma, sorrow, despair, or grief. Recently I have been thinking a lot about children ages seven or eight to their early twenties. The specific age bracket not as important as my thought about how there is a generation of youth who are receiving their significant traumatic moment with all that has transpired this year 2020.
These youth have moved enough past childlike wonder and innocence and have gained enough experience to feel a profound sense of loss from what was to what is no more. Unless of course they are taught the power to choose their reactions and to look for what they can create as part of new beginnings. If youth are taught that they are taking part in creating beginnings and that endings are purposeful in creating space for the new, 2020 will not leave a deep footprint that becomes their lifetime pain, trauma, sorrow, despair, or grief.
Now, more than ever, bravely talking about the subjects we prefer not to talk about is critical. As written in Hope Has a Cold Nose, to look someone’s pain or grief in the eye is one of the hardest things to do. We find ourselves uncomfortable listening to the content of the story. Yet, if we continue to struggle to look pain, trauma, sorrow, despair, or grief in the eye, instead of the world finding healing and new beginnings, anguish will be the new norm.
I don’t know about you, but I think there has been enough anguish.
It is now time to flourish in hope.
Blessings to you this holiday season. May peace, joy, and well-being be yours in the year to come. May hope walk beside you every step of the way.
My goal in life is to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am. – Anonymous
Sincerely,
-Christine
My gratitude to Southern Living for their support of the power of hope!
https://www.southernliving.com/news/hope-has-a-cold-nose-service-dogs-military-veterans-ptsd
For an engaging webinar facilitated by Dr. Alan Westfield, with sharing by Dr. Adrian Popa, Michael Ortiz, Taylor Rowell, and me, please click on the link below:
Listening, Empathy, Awareness & Dignity: LEADership Through Storytelling & Companionship
To purchase Hope Has a Cold Nose:
Amazon:
Amazon.com : christine hassing
Barnes and Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hope-has-a-cold-nose-christine-hassing/1137781095?ean=9781982255282
Balboa Press:
https://www.balboapress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/811622-hope-has-a-cold-nose
or you can contact me: https://christinehassing.com/contact/
Feel free to contact me with any comments or questions. I welcome exchanging in dialogue with you. I can be reached by visiting https://www.hopehasacoldnose.com/, https://christinehassing.com/ or you can email me at ckhred30@gmail.com
P.S. For additional impactful and powerful information regarding the healing impact of service dogs, please visit https://www.northwestbattlebuddies.org/a-vision-of-hope/.
November 2020 Hope Has a Cold Nose Update
Dear readers,
Embrace uncertainty. Some of the most beautiful chapters in our lives won’t have a title until much later. – Bob Goff
A title such as Joy and Sara. Or Glenn and Campbell. Or Doug and Jett. Or. Or the other 20 extraordinary chapters that make up Hope Has a Cold Nose.
Officially launched as of November 11, 2020. I remain immensely humbled and grateful for each co-author who gave me their sacred trust to retell their stories, for all who helped Hope Has a Cold Nose become a reality, and for the journey every step of the way leading up to the launch and since.
The journey. When I first felt called to begin writing Hope Has a Cold Nose, it included inspiring hope for twenty-two lives a day. As Hope Has a Cold Nose was nearing completion, I sensed it would be for inspiring hope. Period. The extraordinary storytellers would not only be serving their military brothers and sisters who are held in the tight grip of hopelessness. They would be serving all whom they took a vow to serve and protect. They would potentially inspire…humanity.
Twice in this past week I have heard this sentiment. I don’t want to hope. I don’t want to be disappointed when it doesn’t work out. This past week I listened to people share their profound sorrow and grief over this year’s continuous change. A few days ago, I had a stranger thank me for the spark in my eyes as he shared how much he missed seeing people’s smiles. Recently I listened as someone shared their sadness at a story of how babies are entering this world only seeing masked faces. Humanity is grieving.
Twenty-three extraordinary co-authors understand grief and sorrow. They understand traumatic moments. They understand fear, isolation, anxiety, depression, and loss of hope. They understand emotional pain. They do not profess to understand in a way that it means they walk in anyone else’s shoes as if to compare or to minimize someone else’s feelings. They understand in a way that they empathize, they care, and they hold the space for others to know they are not alone.
For a long time, I have loved the metaphor of a cocoon, caterpillar, and butterfly. Transformation. The idea of a breaking open to something beautiful. The idea of going from a crawl, to darkness, to flight. In my naivety I thought that every caterpillar became a butterfly. Recently I learned differently.
Choice. Life happens. We choose. Life brings so much we cannot control. What we do not lose is our control of choice. Easier to say than feel sometimes, isn’t it?
Or perhaps in these moments it feels like easier to say then feel often.
Or all the time.
Our dance of grace between opposites. The opposites of choosing to see what is and what can be. Or choosing to see what is not and what no longer is. The opposites of always looking for the positive. Or pushing down the pain, sorrow, and grief that wishes to be seen and acknowledged as part of what makes us human.
What makes us humanity.
I think about the stranger who misses seeing smiles. And I think eyes are the mirror to the soul. We are now being given a chance to pause and pay more attention to what is being communicated from the heart. Are eyes sparkling? Do they reflect happiness? Peace? Or do the eyes look tired? Scared? Hopeless?
We are being asked to lean closer into conversations so that we can better hear people speak. The mask currently feels as if it is a barrier that disconnects. Yet, what if it is actually a gift we have been handed to help us better connect?
To listen as unconditionally as the other 23 co-authors of Hope Has a Cold Nose do well. With compassion, without judgment. With hope. And their beautiful cold noses.
Every story is us. – Rumi
Sincerely,
-Christine
For those unable to join the launch event that took place November 11, 2020, please find the recorded link below:
I was also privileged to take part in a webinar on November 11 held by my alma mater, Gonzaga University. With many thanks to Kelsey Solberg, please click on the link below to listen to a wonderful dialogue facilitated by Dr. Alan Westfield, with sharing by Dr. Adrian Popa, Michael Ortiz, Taylor Rowell, and myself.
Listening, Empathy, Awareness & Dignity: LEADership Through Storytelling & Companionship
For an impactful video put together by Northwest Battle Buddies, please watch “Now I Am”:
To purchase Hope Has a Cold Nose:
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Cold-Nose-Christine-Hassing
Barnes and Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hope-has-a-cold-nose-christine-hassing/1137781095?ean=9781982255282
Balboa Press:
https://www.balboapress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/811622-hope-has-a-cold-nose
or you can contact me: https://christinehassing.com/contact/
Feel free to contact me with any comments or questions. I welcome exchanging in dialogue with you. I can be reached by visiting https://www.hopehasacoldnose.com/, https://christinehassing.com/ or you can email me at ckhred30@gmail.com
P.S. For additional impactful and powerful information regarding the healing impact of service dogs, please visit https://www.northwestbattlebuddies.org/a-vision-of-hope/.
October 2020: Hope Has a Cold Nose Update
Dear followers of Hope Has a Cold Nose,
Did you stand or did you fall
Build a bridge or build a wall
Hide your love or give it all
What did you do, what did you do
Did you make them laugh or make them cry
Did you quit or did you try
Live your dreams or let them die
What did you choose, what did you choose
When it all comes down
It ain’t if, it’s how they remember you –
Lyrics to “How They Remember You”, Rascal Flatts
As I write this update for October 2020, fourteen days from tonight will be the on-line launch event of Hope Has a Cold Nose. November 11, 2020. One thousand, two-hundred, and twenty-three days after I wrote the first veteran/ service dog story for a class project. Or so I believed that is all it was at the time. That is, until approximately six months later when my mind answered the call of my soul and a seed began to grow.
On November 11 at 7:30 p.m. EST (4:30 p.m. PST, 5:30 p.m. MT, 6:30 p.m. CST) all are invited to join a fun-filled, informative, and inspirational evening in celebration of Hope Has a Cold Nose. The event will include guest speakers. We are honored to have military veterans joining. You just might get to meet a service dog or two as well! We are also privileged to have at least one guest from North West Battle Buddies who will be attending to help answer any questions you might have about the training that goes into preparing beautiful four-legged souls to fulfill their missions. During the event, we will also share how you can purchase Hope Has a Cold Nose, as well as information about a special launch offer in how you can contribute to hope in the form of a cold nose. Bring your curiosity as there will be time for Q&A. Bring your excitement and celebration, and most of all your support, for 23 extraordinary stories on this very special Veteran’s Day! Note: The link to join the virtual event is provided below.
Recently I was asked what I would like people to take away when they read Hope Has a Cold Nose. My answer included this: PTSD is not unique to military veterans, nor is depression, isolation, and anxiety that military veterans share about in their stories. Nor is suicide unique. This year has increased the level of uncertainty, anxiousness, and hopelessness to an unparalleled level for so many. These stories are certainly relevant for military veterans and their families as well as for anyone who grapples with pain, trauma, sorrow, or despair.
To the readers: May you learn about the effectiveness of service dogs as a healing modality for those who struggle with PTSD. May your increased understanding foster the ability to listen to others experiencing pain, trauma, sorrow, or despair with the same kind of unconditional acceptance as those with fur do. And if you are undergoing significant pain, trauma, sorrow, or despair, may you find compassion and understanding for your own story. May you find hope.
I anticipate for the 23 co-authors of Hope Has a Cold Nose, their answers would include: Service dogs save lives. When you see someone in public with a dog, don’t judge. We didn’t share our stories for fame. We shared our stories for twenty-two individuals who reach the end of hope every day. If you are one of them reading this – we understand your pain, but don’t give up!
Soon you will be able to read these 23 extraordinary stories I talk about. Soon it will not only be me who has been forever changed for the better because I have been privileged to have my path cross with each of these co-authors of Hope Has a Cold Nose. In just a short time your hearts will be moved, inspired, and stamped with beautiful footprints – and paw prints – from remarkable stories of pain and resilience, trauma and dignity, sorrow and healing, despair and hope.
As a reminder, please mark your calendars for Wednesday, November 11, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. EST (4:30 p.m. PST, 5:30 p.m. MST, 6:30 p.m. CST). Share this invite! Spread the word! The more the merrier! The blessing of virtual is there is no space constraint!
Below you will also find information on how you can purchase a copy of Hope Has a Cold Nose. It is available in hard cover, paperback, and e-book formats. Please share this information as well. The more these stories are shared, the more we all are making a positive difference to reduce 22 to 0.
One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?” The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.” “Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!”
After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…” I made a difference for that one.” – Loren Eisley, The Starfish Story
Sincerely,
-Christine
November 11, 2020 virtual launch event. Join via zoom:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/72069784618?pwd=cmdON1pxckI1cHZpUDdSd3RsWUhmdz09
Meeting ID: 720 6978 4618
Passcode: HHCN6’
To purchase Hope Has a Cold Nose:
Amazon: <a href=”https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Cold-Nose-Christine-Hassing/dp/1982255307/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=christine+hassing&qid=1603935155&sr=8-1″ rel=”sponsored nofollow”>https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Cold-Nose-Christine-
Barnes and Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hope-has-a-cold-nose-christine-hassing/1137781095?ean=9781982255282
Balboa Press:
https://www.balboapress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/811622-hope-has-a-cold-nose
or you can contact me: https://christinehassing.com/contact/
Feel free to contact me with any comments or questions. I welcome exchanging in dialogue with you. I can be reached by visiting https://www.hopehasacoldnose.com/, https://christinehassing.com/ or you can email me at ckhred30@gmail.com
P.S. For additional impactful and powerful information regarding the healing impact of service dogs, please visit https://www.northwestbattlebuddies.org/a-vision-of-hope/.
