Living the Life (Of Dreams) July 5, 2014

It has been said that when a door closes, a window opens. As your resident doggie optimist, it’s one of those philosophies to which I bow my heart. But today I got a breath of fresh air. Today I got a real-life reminder of the truth that is finding the silver lining in even the saddest of situations.

Today I saw Penny, the neighborhood sweetheart otherwise known as a cat. I know what you’re thinking. It goes against every grain of normalcy for her and I to get along. Yet we do. Something in her resonates with me. And today I was reminded why.

Today was the first time I’ve seen her since her forever owner Rose died a few months ago. It was a sad day in my life hearing the news, so I couldn’t imagine what it was like for dear fragile feline Penny. Well, it turns out I had things all wrong. Because poor Penny has not been so poor these days. Quite the contrary, in fact. Though she loved Rose with all of her being, she is happier now than I’ve ever seen her. She has basically become the pet of the neighborhood, the talk of the town if you will.

While no one has officially adopted her, she hasn’t needed adopting. The neighborhood has thrown their proverbial hearts around this dear little creature, by providing her home(s) if she needs as well as plenty of food and love. I know it’s different for her now than it was with Rose, but (at least from what I can tell) it’s just as fabulous.

It just goes to show how far you can go on what might look like nothing sometimes. When she lost Rose, I thought for sure she would be lost. Instead she is thriving and happier than ever. I know this for sure since I’ve seen a lot of it around my forever home recently too. It’s taken some time since we experienced loss around here. Mom lost her favorite job and her father within a couple of weeks ago five years ago already. But I see it every day now and it brings me the sincerest sense of joy.

From the ground up, it happens when a door closes even it if takes a while to find that opened window. I saw it today as mom and dad enjoyed some steamed mussels in chicken broth on the patio in my backyard paradise. They were relaxing after taking a swim in the neighbor’s pool. Their beach towels were drying nearby. And all was well in our world. All is well in our world. We are living the life of dreams.

 

 

Advertisement

Raindrops Keep Falling May 2, 2014

Rain drops keep falling on my head. Literally. It’s been pretty rainy and dreary around here lately. Enough that it’s getting to my head a little. I don’t know why I let it happen, but suddenly and seemingly randomly I’m overcome with a feeling I prefer to avoid. I feel sad. Blue like the sky isn’t. Downright bummed out.

And it hurts. I am the dog who finds joy in people places and things. I can’t be letting a few dreary days get to me. That’s when I remembered this trick I’ve heard mom talk about a few times. It’s a game she plays with her mind and wins with her heart. Perspective. From the ground up, it’s  a pretty powerful thing.

When you are encountered with a sticky situation (be it emotional or otherwise) think about the worst possible thing that could happen, she says. Nine times out of ten that worst case scenario will be so far out of the realm of possibility it is destined to bring relief to your soul.

It’s a good idea to be sure. So many terrible things could have happened today. Someone could have knocked down one of those candles mom lights all over the house and the house could have burned down. Carter could have gotten hurt, or sick, or worse. I could have gotten into an altercation with the neighbor dog on my walk.

I think it’s great that mom loves her new job in the news business, but I personally am in the business of ignoring news. Today I caught some news by accident and got my answer to the question of what the worst possible thing would be to happen today. Stories of tornados wiping out whole cities and local moms dying after bouts of cancer and a teenager who was arrested after police got word of his detailed plot to kill his parents and school mates. These are real things that happened in the world today.

Meanwhile, I’m cozy and comfortable in the comfort of my forever home. I had food in my dish and water in my bowl. I have my toys and my health and my people. And, as usual, I had more love thrown my way than I could possibly catch. Rain drops keep falling on my head. Which, I’m not going to lie, is getting a little annoying. But there is a silver lining in even the worst case scenario. Perspective. From the ground up, it’s a pretty powerful thing.

The Twilight Zone October 12, 2013

If dogs have a Twilight Zone, I visited mine today. My people were still my people. My forever home was still my forever home. All of my toys were put away in their basket in the living room (I checked). Everything looked the same. But the strangest little thing was different.

And I didn’t even notice it at first. I just did what I usually do when the television features an animal. Live or animated. From whales to cows. It doesn’t matter. My normally silent self goes a bit berserk when there is an animal on the television. I have even come to recognize certain music that accompanies commercials with animals and react before I even see that group of dogs invading the screen in my living room.

So it was actually true to form for me to react somewhat aggressively to what I saw on the television. That is, until I realized it was me. There I was, wearing a shirt and tie, reporting the latest updates in the tragic story of the death of NFL star Adrian Peterson’s 2-year-old son.

I woke up the very moment I realize what was happening. I looked around to find I was still in my forever home, lounging peacefully in my doggie bed. I instinctively ran to check the television, but it was turned off. Relief washed over me in confirming it had all been a dream. An incredibly unusual dream.

And it got me to thinking. I hate bad news. I despise scandal. I prefer to avoid thinking about death and loss. I would make an awful news reporter. I’m not too proud to admit it. I seemed all right at it in my dream, but that is the Twilight Zone we’re talking about.

Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying being tuned in to what is happening in the world is a bad thing. Quite the opposite. But, like anything else, I need balance. We need balance. My people don’t watch a lot of news, but when they do I hear a lot about death and shootings and sickness and the struggling economy. Stories of personal growth or success are few and far between. If you ask me, these news bytes are just as important for us to hear.

Fortunately we are not living in the Twilight Zone. But I think American novelist Charles Dickens would agree with my opinion on modern society. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” Dickens wrote.

Indeed, there is good and bad in each and every day. I just prefer to focus my emotional energy on the good instead of the bad. “What is a weed?” transcendentalist thinker Ralph Waldo Emerson questioned. “(It is) a plant whose virtues have never been discovered.”