Dog as Teacher

When I brought my first dog home, I thought all that was required was cuddling, food and water, and medical care.  What I hadn't realized, was that there would be a ton of learning going on.  Obedience training for the new pup, you ask?

No.  I would be pupil, with dog as teacher.
This lesson was not readily apparent to me.

Sure, there was the old "sit" and "stay", all the usual training that dogs learn to be reasonable members of a household.  But what I was learning from my dog, were the life lessons.  The states of being.  That dogs follow calm, assertive energy (thanks, Cesar) and how keenly they're connected to whatever feelings their people are feeling.  I drank in all the wisdom of dog behaviorists and trainers, like Patricia McConnell, Ian Dunbar, Dr. Sophia Yin, Victoria Stilwell and Cesar Millan.  I plucked knowledge gems away from these doggie gurus and squirreled them away, like a hoarder surrounded by all her valuable treasures.  I have a library of books about dogs - their behaviors, their communication, their working abilities, their roles in history, and their breed characteristics.  I immersed myself completely in the world of dogs.

But I was missing something.  I'd learn some great truth, apply it and see how it worked with my own dogs.  But then I'd allow myself to become distracted with something stupid.  Like a fish with a shiny bauble dangling before her, I'd forget the great truth and let the world sink its claws into me.  The lesson forgotten, I'd become impatient with my dogs and feel frustrated.  Result - unbalanced, reactive dogs with an unbalanced, anxious owner.

As I approach my birthday, I'm reflecting back on the year with pride.  There's no great mystery I've solved, but I'm learning to be at peace with myself.  I'm starting to experience what some might call wisdom.  That I am defined by my actions, not my words.  That I should hold my head high, shoulders back - there's a great deal to be proud of.  That no matter how much I worry about anything, it can't change.  Only forward action matters.  And finally, that my perspective dictates the outcome of each and every endeavor.

Positivity.  Calm.  Assertiveness.  Pride.  Action.  With these simple principles, my world changes.  Whether it's walking with Nyxie, or how I face each day at work, or how I react to people bent on negative energy.  The shift has been amazing.  I'm not sure how I spent years as a reactive, insecure person!  Wow - that was a difficult thing to admit...

But why be embarrassed about these things when the force to change it is working?  I'm hoping that each year brings this sort of wisdom, this new learning.  Inner peace, contentment.

I'm ready for the next evolution.