I have many ‘special’ moments.
Husband set me the challenge yesterday of counting how many ‘special’ moments I have in a day. After counting not sitting on the toilet because it was still damp (someone had just had a shower and made the bathroom all steamy) choosing to wear a particular top because it was softer than the alternative and not eating toast for breakfast because it was too crunchy all in the space of about 30 seconds, I decided that task would be too hard to keep track of.
But his question did bring my thinking processes to the foreground, and I became acutely aware not only of how I was thinking; in many different layers, words, thoughts and pictures at the same time, but also of WHAT I was thinking.
At one point during the day I was looking at my dog. She is a very cute dog. In fact she is so cute I have to show you some pictures so you can get just how cute she is.
Anyway, as I was saying before I was distracted all over again by the cuteness of Sam, or Puppy as the family will affectionately call her, I realised I could write my own version of the popular “all I need to know about life I learned from my dog”. So I did. And here it is.
- Life is meant to be fun. Make sure you do something every day that is fun, and throw yourself into it fully.
- Show the people you care about that you love them and be fully expressed when showing them how happy you are to see them. Bouncing and licking are generally accepted ways of demonstrating this.
- Sleep whenever you are tired.
- If you need or want attention ask for it. Position yourself where dangling hands will naturally want to stroke you, sit or lie on feet, follow people like a shadow until you receive desired attention and if all that fails stick a wet nose in their face.
- Eat whenever you are hungry.
- Listen. Sam does this particularly well. She is always being taken for walks as people enjoying talking to her about their concerns, complaints, frustrations, happiness, decisions to be made and victories. She listens without judgement, opinions, questions or attachment. She doesn’t bring anything to conversations, said in another way she brings nothing to a conversation and people are left experiencing being understood, listened to and gotten.
- Enjoy each minute as if it’s the first time you have experienced it, with total freedom and full self-expression. This is living in the present without thought of the past, or the future. Dogs are masterful in doing this, I’ve never seen Sam look at me when I feed her as if to say “what? Biscuits again?!”. What will be will be.
- Never stand when you can sit, and never sit when you can lie down.
- Take time to stop and smell the flowers, and the bushes, and the gate and the fire hydrants and the garden beds and the lamp posts and the rocks and the bench legs, and the cars and the fence and the curb and the reflector posts and the rock walls and the playground equipment and the and the and the……
- Never underestimate the power of a good LOOK. Especially when food is involved.
- Always ask, you might be surprised with how many “yes’s” you get, and if it is ‘no’ it will most likely be accompanied by a pat on the head or some other pleasant form of attention; and tomorrow might be yes.
- If someone is having a bad day, it’s sometimes enough just to be there and let them know by resting your head in their lap.
- Dig without giving up at whatever is hiding from your view.
- Loyalty has it’s own special kind of power, be choosy who you give it to, then do so fully and without reservation.
- Paws make great pillows. So do chairs, steps, flower beds and laps. Laps are the best though as sometimes you’ll get your ears and head stroked.
- Love your food. Eat it with enthusiasm and if you like it look for more.
- If someone wants to touch you, let them. There is a generosity, graciousness and acknowledgment in allowing others to show you their affection this way.
- Don’t indulge in the guilt trap. No matter how often you get scolded, told off, insulted and barked at, let it go and come back bounding and happy. If all else fails – pee on their shoes.
- When you’re happy express it with your whole body, tail to ears. This is contagious and will make the people around you laugh or at the very least smile.
- Naps are the best, have them often.
- Fetch the ball three times, any more is madness and tiring. They can get it themselves.
And I’m going to stop there, because I like the number 21, there is a certain evenness and roundness to it that I find comforting, well, not jarring.
Like I said, I have many special moments in a day.
The Gifted Bear 