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Love That Doggy.

When Hudson was a baby.

Love between a pet owner and it’s pooch is such a wonderful bond. Of course the bond between people is fabulous, but it is tenuous, sometimes shaky, sometimes unstable. With pets it is just straight out love. No conditions, no holding back, no judgements, just great big bundles of affection.

I say this because I am dog sitting my grand dog. He is a beautiful pit bull that is always so happy to see me. He loves to come to grammy’s house and hang out. We play tug of war, go for long walks, eat lots of treats, and sleep together. I know it sounds icky, but we love to snuggle.

Now for people who don’t have pets I say you are missing out on a great source of happiness. Dogs just think we are their whole world, and they love us for sharing it. As I am writing this, Hudson, that’s my grand dog baby, comes in every now and then to stick his cold nose under my arm to give me a nudge of affection. No needs, just wants to say hi.

He is a beauty. I know that people think that pit bulls are evil, terrible beings, but they are wrong. Raised with love and kindness, they are the best.

My Tessie.

Tessie, that’s my dog is willing to share me with Hudson, but only on her terms. It takes a few hours for her to accept him and let him in to play and cuddle. Once we pass that phase they play happily together, looking my way to be sure all is well while they slobber all over the place chewing on doggy toys.

It is a great way to soothe the heart when you look into those eyes and know that there is true love shining through.

My goal in all of this madness is to give you another way to look at the world around you. What is in the news is awful. That is not all that is happening, but they want us to think it is. I say turn off your television, let the liars lie, and find a little happiness in the things around you. Sometimes we have to stop and look for a moment, but I am sure it is there.

Tess is the boss.

Pets are a wonderful release, having a moment with a child and laughing at something silly is great, walking through nature and being amazed at all the glorious things in front of you can be wonderful too.

I have a bunny that comes to my house. She sits out in the backyard and stays put when I show up. I think there is a bond there between us. I always throw her a slice of bread which she loves, and we sit quietly in our little spots sharing a moment in time.

My bunny.

Find a refuge somewhere with someone or a pet and embrace the peace around you. It is a great way to start and end your day. Don’t let the day to day crap spoil your good mood. And as I always say, have a great day today. You and I deserve it.

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Inspiration.

Beautiful.

We all need something to sling us into the future and get us off our butts. Right! We need to become active in creating the life we want. Not just sitting around whining about the past. How do we do this you might ask?

Well, it is the people we let into our lives. Yep! The very folks that hang with us can bring us down or lift us up. Even the music we listen to, and the movies we watch, influence our way of thinking. We just aren’t paying attention, but we should.

All day, everyday we absorb the energy around us. The happiness that may be given off by someone or the anger that another is spewing has an effect on how we are feeling. It influences how we react to the world around us.

Don’t believe me take a moment and look at some happy pictures on the internet. You pick the genre, but spend a few minutes looking at puppies, or babies, or things in nature. Look at what brings a little joy to your heart. I promise if you do this it will lift your mood.

Now, I am not challenging you to let the feelings in as a contest to prove that you won’t. I am saying open yourself to the feelings that might flow in. We have to open ourselves up to the good experiences in life. There is much that surrounds us that can lead us back on track to feeling good. To finding a purpose in life.

I love Ed Sheeran. I am almost seventy years old and I just love his music. I wonder how such a young man can create such powerful love songs. One of my favorite ” youtube” videos is Ed Sheeran singing with the great opera star Bocelli. If you want to hear something beautiful watch that video. The amazing part of the video is that two unique, talented individuals generations apart came together to bring us something beautiful. What a blessing!

Both of these great musicians have come far in their music journey crashing through many obstacles along the way that only made them stronger. We too must find the things that will make us stronger. Things that have the power to move us forward when our life has stalled.

It’s in the details.

My life has stalled many times. I have been creative, but lack the will or determination to follow through. I let self doubt get in my way. I took the easy out, the security of an eight to five.

Something I have learned along the way is that all great people, big and small, have one thing in common. Determination. They did not quit. They did not let the hurdles placed in front of them deter them from what they wanted to do. What they wanted to create. The rest of us, me included, let self doubt and fear create a wall.

So, the first thing we must do is bring things into our life that will lead in the direction we really want to go. Read books, listen to moving music, bring good people into our life. You wouldn’t want a bad tennis player to teach you how to play tennis. Why let a bad life coach teach you how to live a shitty life. Did you know our friends are our life coaches?

Long ago I had a dear friend. Together we had a dream. Sadly life got in our way or we let it, I don’t know which it was, but we put away our dream and went our separate ways.

Later I found out that this dear person who had been a part of my life for several years died from breast cancer. It was the demon that actually challenged both of us at different times in our lives. I fortunately won my battle, she did not. Cancer does that, it takes away, and it leaves behind some of the wounded.

I have included a little clip at the bottom of the this page that is from a meditation tape we made together years ago. It is called ” Chakra Lights Meditation.” Stress management was and is a big topic. We taught a variety of classes on stress and mediation. We had a dream. I am going to revive that dream and offer this great meditation to all of you in the near future.

The part I included is the beginning relaxation section. Something most of us do not do enough of. And I don’t mean sitting down in front of a television or blurring out on the internet. I mean really relaxing and letting go of the tension that has built up throughout your day. Taking a moment to let go is the beginning to feeling better. To moving in the right direction.

A major step in making life changes is to let go of the garbage floating around us. There are many things that just don’t matter. Sometimes just taking a minute to breathe will help us refocus and get about our day. I hope this little segment will help. Have a great day today.

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Mindfulness

Look at the details.

Do you know what you had to eat for breakfast today? Or did you even eat? Do you remember the flavors, the texture of the food, or did you just wolf it down as most of us do.
Often we go through our day and miss most of the moments that have passed us by. Something as simple as driving to work and we may not even remember the journey.

Mindfulness is the act of being present in the moment. Noting what is around you. I have heard people say they never noticed this or that on there routine journey home. It is like we go into a zone of nothingness. When this happens we miss so much.

Perhaps we are focusing on yesterday. I read that 40% of our time is spent in the past. Reliving events that occurred long ago. Often these are not the happy moments you would think we would focus on, but the bad, what we did, and what someone did to us.

We spend 40% of our time in the future worrying about what might be. We fret, worry, and imagine some pretty awful things. There might be a few who live in a state of ecstasy, but most of us lean toward the bad things that might happen .

Fluffy beauty.

And we only spend 20% of our time in the here and now. Can you believe it? For most of our day we are not even here.

My challenge to you is to become more mindful. Pay attention. I mean really pay attention to what is occurring right now. Look at the people in your life, look at the world around you, your pets, your family. Get lost in today.

I was browsing through some old photographs of my granddaughters and I was lost in the beauty of their faces, the joy that was there, the fun they were having. I mean it was such a sweet treat and I felt so good afterward. It really lifted my mood.

And lifting your mood is something that you can do as well. Get lost in today’s moments. Look at something around you like that feather at the top or the web picture. Our dog Zoey was a beauty. There is so much rich detail in the day to day things we encounter. Think of all the things it took to give us this moment. And let it all sink in.

So when your mind is wandering, look at where it is and bring it back to this day. After all that is really all we have. And as I always say have a great day today. You and I deserve it.

Can’t you just lose yourself in those eyes.
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Funny Happenings

There I was walking along with my dog when someone whizzes by on a bike and says ” hi cutey” so I foolishly smile back. After more walking a jogger runs by and says ” hey there good boy.” Again I smile like a buffoon, puzzled that he can’t tell I am a girl. But, when it happens a third time as someone passes by I realize that they are talking to my dog Tessie, and not me.

Can you believe it, there I am at the end of that leash and people hardly notice that there is a human attached. Sometimes when they look up and see me they act surprised.

Now I say to all those people who like to greet my dog that I am really flattered that they are so impressed by her, but don’t forget about me. I need a smile once in awhile. I need to be greeted just as warmly

there’s both my girls

Have you ever noticed how people often just melt and get goofy around a dog, and scowl at a person. I say it is just bad manners on their part.

Now I can take this as an insult from these greeters or I can take it as a message from the universe to treat people as good as you would a dog (most people that is). Sometimes we need to be reminded that it makes others feel good when they are treated well. Even something as simple as a smile can brighten someone’s day.

The next time you are out trekking the hills and dales smile at everyone that passes you as you greet their lovely pet. It will make everyone’s day so much better. You might surprise yourself and feel better as well. So for today have a great day. You and I deserve it.

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We are but a tiny drop in a very large ocean.

Can you imagine how many of us it would take to make this beautiful pool of water if we were each just one drop. All of us mixing together to make one of the loveliest images. Just looking at this picture makes me feel cool and at ease. We can use the things in nature to bring us a sense of peace. In this chaotic world we need that more than anything.

Find something in nature and lose yourself in that moment. Look at all the details. Look at all the things that have come together to bring this moment to you. We can get away from the world around us by being mindful of what surrounds us moment to moment. It takes a lot of little particles to make something as large as a body of water.

Someone somewhere said that there are more universes out in the great beyond then all the grains of sand on all the beaches of the world. We are but a speck, but when we come together, we make great things.