Courage Under Fire

A dog’s responsibilities in life are pretty simple. Most of us don’t cook, clean, or pay the bills. (Instead we eat, leave furballs in hallways, and make a hobby of collecting toys). But this is not to say we dogs aren’t responsible. To me, our biggest responsibility in life is no small matter – to love with all our little doggie hearts as big and full as possible.

I found myself reflecting on this after I saw a commercial on the television tonight. It’s not unusual for me to favor Allstate Insurance commercials, but a comment in this one struck me: bad things can’t stop us from making our lives good.

This concept illustrates one of life’s most unfortunate truths: bad things that happen to good people on a daily basis. It’s just not fair. Trying to bring sense to it is a fool’s errand. But (like most things) it’s usually not the bad news that changes us, it’s how we deal with it.

Everyone has their own ways of digesting negative situations. Some people lock up and close down. Others open up and share all. This is not to say there is one way or another that’s better for working through various situation, but (like anything) all good things come in moderation. Heightened emotions can lead to overreactions (yes, it happens to all of us) which (more often than not) end in regret.

If you have to ask, it’s generally gone too far. But there is something about freedom of expression I occasionally confuse with common sense. With freedom comes great responsibility. It doesn’t take courage or integrity to play the blame game. It takes courage to do the right thing even when it hurts. It takes courage to soldier through the tough times and make people wonder why you’re still smiling.

Just because dogs don’t have a lot of responsibility doesn’t mean we aren’t responsible. In fact, I smile because I am responsible. Not for cooking, cleaning or paying the bills, but for something much more important. My biggest responsibility in life is also my greatest blessing.

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