Animals and Ancestral Healing

Most of us think of animals as companions — loyal friends, protectors, healers, playmates. But over time, I’ve come to see that some animals play a deeper role, one that stretches beyond the personal and into the generational. They don’t just walk into our lives. Sometimes, they walk into our family lines. And they carry with them the quiet power to shift what’s been unspoken for decades. Inherited Patterns Aren’t Just Ours Many of us are familiar with the idea that we inherit more than physical features from our families. Emotions, behaviors, roles, even trauma — these can pass down through generations, often without us even realizing it. Some families carry patterns of grief that was never fully expressed. Some carry anxiety, shame, or silence around conflict. Others carry hyper-independence, people-pleasing, emotional shutdown, or fear around illness, death, or abandonment. These patterns show up subtly. Not always in words, but in the emotional tone of a household. And animals — se...