Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Since moving to Ohio, I've had so much more energy to actually get out in nature and walk my doggies. They love it as much as I do. And with the weather being as nice as it's been, I have to take advantage of being outside as much as possible. I'm learning so much about life through being with them. They are such great teachers and I am so grateful that they chose me to be their master! They're teaching me 1) To live life in the moment. Dogs don't worry about tomorrow, or fret over what happened yesterday. There are here and present all of the time. 2) To enjoy the simple things in life. They get a thrill simply from riding in the car to the park, walking in the park, sniffing grass, greeting people, and spending time with me. 3) Have no judgements. My dogs don't judge a soul. They treat everyone and greet them the exact same, every single time, no questions asked. 4) Exercise every day. My dogs absolutely love going for walks and I can easily tell when I start walking them that they have limitless amounts of energy to walk off. Within 10 minutes of walking them, they start to slow down because they've gotten a lot of their energy out. They are both losing weight and they are much calmer as a result of their exercise! And I can tell they feel better, too. 6) Rest. Every time we come home from walking, the first thing they do, after drinking a bowl-full of water is rest. They don't worry about everything they have to get done. They just think about resting and heading to their dog beds for a much-needed nap. 7) Have gratitude. They are so grateful for getting to get out of the house, ride in the car, be around people, be in nature, etc. And they aren't afraid to show it by evidence of their constant tail wagging. It's a sight to see for sure! 8) Never be afraid to express how you feel. My dogs always show me how they are feeling. Although they're mostly happy, they still show me when they're scared, cautious, not feeling well, etc, and they have no problems expressing themselves. 9) Go after the things you want. Sam and Maggie both go after the things they want. When they want some of my food, they beg and have no issues doing so. When they want to sniff a smell, they go after that smell whole-heartedly! When they want to greet someone, they greet them with the same energy as if they're going after that smell. 10) Show unconditional love all of the time. They both show me and everyone they meet unconditional love all of the time. No matter what mood I'm in when I come home from a bad day, they are both there to greet me at the door, tails on a constant wag, and whimpers of delight! They love me the same today as they did yesterday, and there are no conditions placed on me at all. All I have to do is be me, and that's good enough for them! So take your dogs for a walk in the park and find out the many things about life that you can learn from them. Trust me, they are such amazingly great teachers, and I thank God for my doggies. I couldn't imagine life without them!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

I've been gone for far too long!!!

WOW!! As I sit here and type, I can't believe I've gone almost two years without writing in my blog. Talk about taking a break!! And with knowing that writing is one of my passions and a great creative outlet for me, I still made the choice to go that long without writing. Why? Maybe it was procrastination. Maybe it was laziness. Maybe it was part of the path I was supposed to travel to get me to this point. I honestly don't know. Kinda sad, really if I sit here and think about it long enough. And even though I made the choice not to write in my blog for almost two years, the desire always stayed with me. But, I let my choices win out over my desires. I let my ego win out over my heart. For my two year break, I was leading with my head and not with my heart. I allowed life to take over instead of me taking over my life. I made going to work and paying bills a priority. I made making others happy a priority. I made doing laundry, washing dishes, grocery shopping, getting oil changes, watching movies, and running errands a priority. While all of those things are important, I forgot about my passion and desire to write. I put nourishing my soul on the back-burner. And, I was merely existing and not living! That's definitely no way to live. Knowing this deep inside of me, a thought keeps playing over and over in my head. The thought is, "When it's my time to transition to the other side, I don't wanna be on my death-bed, laying there with any regrets. I want to know that I did all that I wanted to do. I want to know that I followed my heart. I want to know that I pursued my passions. And I want to know that I did all I could do to impact the world by inspiring people." That's what I want, and that's what I WILL DO! And now that I'm 41, almost 42 years old, I feel like I haven't got one second longer to waste. God gave me the gift of writing to give to the world and I must share it. That's what I believe!! So, with that being said, I'm gonna go sit outside on this amazingly beautiful day, watch my doggies play, listen to the birds and the sounds of the universe, and do some more writing. Maybe do some journaling. Maybe some free-flow writing. Or, maybe starting out on writing the book that's been sitting inside of my belly. And, until next time..... FOLLOW YOUR PASSIONS!!