The quiet power of presence: A lesson from a dog in Montreal

I didn’t know it then, but a dog I met in Montreal 17 years ago would become one of my first energy teachers.

It was springtime and my two-year-old daughter and I had wandered out to a local café near Beaver Lake on Mount Royal. I was tired. The kind of tired only mothers of toddlers truly understand: the physical exhaustion, the emotional load, the constant sense that you’re giving everything you have… and still coming up short.

While sipping a coffee on the terrace, I noticed a family arrive at the table next to us. They were accompanied by a large, beautiful dog—maybe a Husky or Malamute mix, with striking gray and white fur and the quiet confidence of a being who knew exactly who he was. 

He just sat there… peaceful and utterly present. Not performing. Simply being.

And I remember thinking: How does he do that?

I felt like I was drowning under a list of expectations. That dog, meanwhile, radiated peace without needing to change a single thing about himself.

In that moment, I didn’t have the language I do now, but what I was witnessing was pure presence. He wasn’t trying to “be” anything. He was.

It struck something deep in me.

At the time, I didn’t have consistent energy tools. I hadn’t yet committed to the daily practice of grounding, clearing, and aligning my own energy. I was still operating from the belief that to be worthy, I had to earn it. That being exhausted, overextended, and constantly proving myself was just what it meant to be a “good” person.

But that moment stayed with me.

And now, years later—after hundreds of hours of energy training, supporting clients, and showing up daily to my own energy practice—I understand what I saw that day. That dog wasn’t just relaxing. He was in alignment with his own nature. And witnessing that, something in me recognized it. That’s what I’m searching for. Not perfection. Just the quiet strength and peace of being fully myself.

As energy-sensitive people, we often feel the world so deeply that we try to shape-shift to keep up. But animals, children, and nature have so much to teach us about living in present time. They don’t ruminate. They don’t plan ten steps ahead. They respond to the now with their full being.

One of the most surprising discoveries in my energy work journey has been this: presence isn’t a mysterious superpower only certain people (or dogs!) have. It’s a practice. A return to what’s already within us.

And it can begin with something as simple as watching a puppy or a bird. When we pause and sync with that energy, we start to remember how to be.

So if you find yourself rushing or overthinking this week—try pausing for a few seconds. Watch your child playing. Your dog lounging.

You might find that the peace you’re chasing isn’t far away. It’s already in you—waiting to be remembered.