10/08/2025
Fall is a season of release. A time when the trees remind us that letting go can be beautiful. And honestly… I think we could all use a little of that right now. In animal welfare (and in life), we carry a lot. We experience heartbreak and hope, loss and love, wins and defeats… sometimes all within the same hour. It’s heavy. Most days we keep pushing through because the animals, the mission, and the people who believe in us need us to. This work lives at the intersection of burnout, compassion, and hope. That balance can be both powerful and exhausting. We pour everything we have into healing others while often forgetting to heal ourselves. So this season, I want to challenge you, us (myself included), to let go. Let go of what’s no longer serving you. Let go of what didn’t happen and what did.
And forgive.
Forgive yourself for not being able to save them all. Forgive those who couldn’t offer the compassion you would have given. Forgive the days that didn’t go as planned. Because forgiveness isn’t a one-time act...it’s a process. Often a complicated process of ups and downs, but never linear. It's a daily practice. We talk a lot about radical compassion here at the shelter (or to anyone who will listen, really 😂). But radical compassion about meeting people where they are, without judgment. It’s about choosing kindness, even when it’s hard. Because truthfully, we never know what someone else is carrying unless they tell us.
Last night I heard, "You know you have a big heart when you feel bad for doing what’s best." And I haven't been able to get it out of my head. So being the person I am, I want to share it with all of you... We care so deeply that even doing what’s right can hurt. But we have to remember that letting go doesn’t mean we don’t care. It means we’re making space for what’s next.
Fall is a beautiful reminder that there’s beauty in letting go. So let’s embrace it together by giving ourselves grace, letting go, forgiving, and choosing compassion again and again.... Because we're all just humans (and animals) doing our best on this big spinning rock in space.
*I hope you enjoy the montage of the last photo our staff took on our phones!* -Chelsea
