July 18, 2013
Life’s
lessons cannot be learned in a minute, an hour or even a lifetime. Do not
despair, a sufficient number of life’s lessons can be learned if one brings
awareness to his/her actions, interactions, adventures and misadventures.
This
morning’s sequences of actions and misadventures gave birth to quite a few of
life’s lessons…
Pappy,
Sweetie and Buddy, the 3 dogs my sister rescued, live at my brother’s house
(because he has a large backyard). I recently moved back to Nashville and reside here as well with my dog Abigail.
She is the inside dog. So, this morning’s life lessons began with the thought
of cleaning out my car from my recent beach trip. I had a camping chair in the
backseat of my car that had to be removed. With my beach chair over one
shoulder and my gym bag over the other, I started down the driveway toward the
gated fence. Just yesterday, I came through the back gate carrying only my
small computer bag and there was just enough space for little Houdini, aka Pappy,
to slide by my legs and take off like a little muscly, black rocket bolting
across the manicured front lawn, rows of monkey grass, around the large shrubs
that frame either side of the driveway and out of sight. Even with this recent
experience, I mindlessly entered the gate toting as much as I could, for efficiency’s-sake.
Needless to say, an escape artist made his way around my feet. Surprised that
it was the caramel colored rescue Buddy and not Pappy, I turned around; at
which point all three dogs made a break for it. I hurried in the back door and
up the stairs, grabbed the leashes and headed out the front door while I
thought, “Gees, it would’ve been so much easier to come through the front
door…. Do I take my car like Phil did yesterday when Pappy escaped? Nah, I
don’t want to get dog smell in my car.” After making my way down the street on
foot, I realized why my amazing, Eagle Scout stepbrother took his truck. Dogs
are quicker than humans, at least those dogs and this human! I returned to the
house for my car and prayed the dogs did no get out of sight before I could
catch up with them. Or worse, make their way to the main roads. I caught up
with them and the games began.
I would get out of the car and edge closer to the dogs while
calling for them, being mindful not to shut the door all of the way in case the
doors decided to automatically lock and leave my running car locked in the
middle of the street with the extra set of keys in the center console. (Lesson
1: Do not keep extra set of keys in your
car.) I was able to get little Houdini on the first round and coaxed him to hop
into the backseat of my car. I then attempted to catch the other two creatures
and they bolted once I was within arm’s length. I quickly hopped back in the
car and made my way to the end of the block. We were now only two blocks from a
main road. Feeling a mild anxiety growing, my mind started to race, “Would I
ever be able to catch these dogs?” At the time, I couldn’t remember their
names, so I couldn’t call for them with anything other than a sweet voice and
terms of endearment.
As they approached the end of the street, I felt my anxiety
grow. I drove down to the end of the street and parked horizontally to produce
a mental barrier for the dogs. It seemed to work, they turned around and
started heading the other way. They made there way down the block at which
point I returned to the car and removed it from blocking the path of any
mid-morning drivers. Pappy sat in the backseat awaiting the reunion
with his friends who he could undoubtedly hear frolicking in the streets.
Success! Hearing the whines of his caged friend, the furry black dog that looks
like a small grizzly bear approached the front passenger door. Throwing my
vehicle into park, I leaned over to open the front door. She jumped into the
car and I pulled the door shut. She then climbed over the middle console, pulling
with her front paws, clicking her nails and kicking her back paws as she
struggled to gain traction to join her friend in the back seat. All I could
think was “Oh gees, my leather.”
Returning my focus to the task at hand, I slowly edged down
the street. An idea popped into my head, “I could use one of these dogs to coax
Buddy into the car. I put the car in park, grabbed a leash and took the tiny
grizzly from the back seat. As I shut the door, Sweetie was tugging on her
leash. The tugging stopped and I realized I had a leash connected to a collar
minus a small grizzly bear. Sweetie trotted back to meet her friend and I
watched as the two escapees happily cantered away.
Ever the optimist, I decided to herd the dogs like sheep. I
skillfully maneuvered my compact car, driving the escape artists around the
corner and down my brother’s street. It worked! As they caught sight of the
house, they darted towards the back fence. Momentarily leaving the 3rd
dog in the car, I quickly opened the gate and let the dogs in. I returned to
the car and grabbed Pappy, returned him to his friends and chuckled about my
inefficient morning as I climbed the back stairs and entered the cool house.
All’s well, ends well.
Recap of Life’s Lessons Learned Today:
1.
Do not keep your extra set of keys in the car.
2.
Sometimes it is necessary to push those away
that we love in order to keep them from harm.
3. Overarching
Theme: Awareness/Mindfulness – If
we take the time to slow down just a little and encourage ourselves to be
present in our actions and thoughts, we can be more efficient and effective.
[1] Pekingese get their name from the ancient city
of Peking, now called Beijing. Pekingese were held sacred in ancient China and
could only be owned by royalty. At that time, the punishment for stealing a
Pekingese was death. Pekingese came to Europe as a result of war. When the
British overtook the Chinese Imperial Palace in 1860, they returned home with
several of the dogs. Pekingese are fiercely loyal and protective of their
owners.
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