“If you clean up the lies you believe about yourself, the lies you believe about everybody else will change.”
Don Miguel Ruiz
Change Your Story
dogs
Wagging Sage #1
The world is moving faster than ever. Impatience and tempers ablaze. Stress fortifies insomnia. Chaotic thoughts emanate from the computer, the phone, and your mind.
You must deliberately seek the quiet, the stillness, and nature.
Be silent. There is no place to be, but here.
Awake
Desert in the summer
means walking the dog at sunrise
rabbits chew and quail run
We cast small shadows
the spaces between needles of the cactus
are the gaps between my thoughts
Canine Consciousness
Dogs embody the very concept of presence. They live for the moment, not worrying about the future or reliving the past.
They do not judge.
They do not form attachments to anything (OK, maybe their toys and treats). But they’re not attached to goals or ideas.
They do not resist reality. They roll with it.
Let’s try to emulate our best friend. Let’s try to stop judging, attaching and resisting reality. Let’s be fully present.
Our Vicious Pitbull, Opal
Listen, we go through this every May. I have to close the door after you go out in order to keep the flies and mosquitos from coming in. No need for you to get anxious and insecure. Just go out there and do your business. I’m right here. And remember, this is our routine until it gets cool again. When is that? It won’t get cool again until probably early November.
Selfie
Ah, the selfie.
Nothing wrong with taking pictures of yourself once in awhile.
And scientific data linking selfies to narcissim are in their budding stages. But emerging data show a link between frequency of changing profile pictures and use of editing software (to enhance the photos). It seems if you’re editing your photos to look better than you really do signals possible narcissim. (Psychology Today)
Identifying narcissism and and other psychological disorders accurately require a substantial analysis that usually includes multiple traits. No one is saying that just because you’re taking selfies, you’re narcissistic. BUT…
Have you ever noticed how happy dogs are?
It’s because they do not possess a sense of self-concept. They don’t think about themselves and worry about their “image.” They embrace life – everything and everyone around them. They are fully present. We can learn so much from them.
Of course, we’re human and we have higher brain functioning. We have the ability to have self-concepts. But we DO have control over whether we decide to pursue such materialistic fancies.
Why not choose to be happy and disregard the self-concept, the self-image? Just enjoy your life. Don’t be concerned about what other think of you. Remember, “No one cares as much as you think they do.”
Sweet Salvation
Opal was a rescue from a shelter.
People say, “Wow, she’s lucky you found her.” She’s a pitbull mix and there are many where she came from. Her breed is supposedly unpredictable. Mean. Violent. She’s lucky to have found a home!
But really, we are the lucky ones.
She makes her rounds all night, checking on each daughter and then on us.
She rarely barks, saving her growls for trespassers outside our door. She’s so protective!
Petting her releases endorphins and dopamine, chemicals that keep anxiety at bay.
She looks at us with those beautiful eyes and persuades us to go for a walk, even if it’s cold outside.
Her mere presence cheers us up after a rough day at work or school.
She reminds us to revel in the present moment, to breathe in the fresh air, and to spot rabbits in the bushes.
What makes her happy? Food. A warm bed. Loved ones nearby. She teaches us that it doesn’t take much to be blissful.
A Face Only A Mother Could…
Josie: Opal looks sleepy. She looks sad.
We look at her.
Ava: That’s just her resting bitch face.
It’s OK
We all ought to be more like dogs, if we want to live joyful lives and be good people.
“I can’t walk you this morning, I’m running late.”
“It’s OK.”
“You will have to be all alone today, for 9 hours. I’m sorry.”
“It’s OK.”
“We ran out of your favorite treats, so no treats for you today.”
“It’s OK. I can still rub my back on the carpet and meditate.”
Rituals
This morning, my husband and I woke up, started making coffee and wondered out loud, “Should we make coffee and THEN walk, or walk and come back to coffee?” Since the Arizona weather has cooled, we’ve started a new weekend ritual: while our daughters sleep in, we go for a walk with Opal, our pitbull rescue. We have been going to a new park next to the elementary school in our community. The design includes a winding walkway, a water pump, simple signs describing wild life and cacti and of course, quail, jackrabbits, ground squirrels, roadrunners, gila woodpeckers, mourning doves, cactus wren and various cacti.
We’re out for an hour or so. Yesterday, we went to the new park. This morning, we walked in Usery Park. We walk down several blocks from our home and cross a wash and voila! Usery. It’s protected and the plants there survive without any irrigation, it’s xeriscape at it’s best. Opal darts in and out and inevitably catches cholla on her paws. But she’s in heaven and so are we.
Walking in nature, one feels a sense of peace unmatched in one’s daily life. The open, blue sky above….the vast landscape of untouched nature ahead….the utter joy of one’s dog leaping and chasing jackrabbits and then limping back to us, asking us to remove thorns from her paw. It’s times like these, where you feel you’re really looking at the Big Picture and you realize what is truly important: love and presence.
Kismet 