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How to Overcome Negative Emotions with a Counterintuitive Approach
Become a mighty ocean instead of building walls.
Two years ago, my dog died.
We got him when I was nine years old and I spent half my childhood and all my adolescent years with him.
On his first day with us, I carried my mattress up to the living room so both of us could sleep on there and he’d have some company during his first night in a foreign house.
We grew up together, ran around in the grass, exchanged belly rubs for licks on the face, and often spent hours cuddling.
Unfortunately, man’s best friend ages a lot faster than man himself, and by the time I moved out for college, grey patches on his fur had already formed.
During his last months, the toll old age had taken on him became obvious. He was shaky and needed a lot of encouragement to even touch his food. Every now and then his legs would give way and he’d fall over.
On one beautiful summer day, my mum called me after I left work to tell me that he had to be put down because he couldn’t get up anymore and was in pain.
It hit me. Hard.
But I did what all emotionally immature people — especially men, because we rarely get taught how to…
