Getting Naked – Valerie Bertinelli

I AM A pet person. That means my fallback position is patience. It also means my go-to position is love. Pet people all share one common characteristic besides the obvious: We have a soft, gooey center. When the going gets rough, we cuddle with our pets. When no human understands what we’re going through, we tell our animals everything and they get it. When things are good, we basically French kiss them.* It’s gross. It’s love. I wish I could see myself the way my pets see me.

They surely notice my flaws, but they don’t let those define me the way I have for so much of my life. I think this is true for most people’s pets. They see the whole picture—the good, the messy, the vulnerable, the potential. Everything that makes us human. They don’t see me as fat or thin, grouchy or cheerful, too much or not enough. They don’t judge. They don’t try to change me. They leave that to me.

They love me unconditionally as I am and how I am. They let me fail, grow, and keep trying. “You’re my person no matter what,” they say. And even though I know the difference between people and animals, I say it back: “You’re my person, too.” And when they leave us? Forget about it. With me, we’re talking about a once-in-a-generation flood of tears. I was thinking about this the day after my cat Nelson died. My eyes were swollen from crying. Nelson was a gorgeous buff tabby who I fostered after my other cat Dexter passed in 2013.

Dexter was a stunning Abyssinian and the love of my life. He was the last cat I ever purchased at a pet store, which I didn’t realize then but know now that you should never do. But it was a moment of instant attraction. I turned, he was looking at me, and shazam, it was a love match.

Dexter, to me, was part dog and part psychic in a cat’s body. In other words, he was an elevated soul. He knew me like nobody else.

This ebook contains the following accessibility features which, if supported by your device, can be accessed via your ereader/accessibility settings: Change of font size and line height Change of background and font colors Change of font Change justification Text to speech Page numbers taken from the following print edition: ISBN 9780063429086 OceanofPDF.com Dedication To my son. You shine in my heart like the moon and the stars and have expanded any limit I thought my heart could possibly hold.

Life isn’t perfect and that’s okay because love always gets us through. OceanofPDF.com Epigraph All is well. Everything is working out for my highest good. Out of this situation only good will come. I am safe. —LOUISE HAY There’s more than one answer to these questions pointing me in a crooked line —INDIGO GIRLS, “CLOSER TO FINE” I’m doing the best I can and I can always do better.

—DBT MANTRA OceanofPDF.com Contents Cover Title Page Note to Readers Dedication Epigraph Introduction: The Poetry of Being Walking My Roots Are Showing Puzzles Climate Change Dry January, February . . . December, and Beyond In a Warm Bath (A Meditation) Just Breathe Falling If I Could Talk to My Animals (And If They Could Talk to Me) Getting Naked Sitting Still with Anger and Disappointment (A Meditation) Smaller and Wiser Never Say Never Connections And Yet Healing (A Meditation) Time (Don’t Hurry, Be Happy) Good Work A Parting Thought Acknowledgments About the Author Also by Valerie Bertinelli Copyright About the Publisher OceanofPDF.com OceanofPDF.com Introduction The Poetry of Being Our job is to learn and to love, and I want to be better at it.

I want to be better. JOURNAL ENTRY, JULY 2024 STRIP EVERYTHING AWAY. All of it. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. Take off the clothes. Don’t suck in the gut. Drop the facade. Stop pretending. Get rid of the chains. No judging, no making faces, no regrets. Stand there and look, really look . . . and feel what it feels like.

I take it all in—the chill of the air on my naked body, the wrinkles, the sagging skin, the messy bed-hair with roots showing, the parts of me that I cover up, the fear of letting it out, the shame, the “Do Not Open” label on the box of secrets I have kept; but also, there’s the strength in my arms and legs, this body that gave birth to a new life, that feels desire, vulnerability, hunger, courage, humor, acceptance, curiosity, connection . .

. the breaths filling my lungs, my beating heart, my love, my mortality, my humanity . . . this moment, right now. Breathe. Find the love. Feel the love.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: df6a6de28c12e932
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 11,359,054 bytes (10.833 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9780063429086
• Pages: 219
• Language: English (en)

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