Dog comes through in the clinch – again!

As I was sitting on the porch, admiring my cup of coffee (hey, everybody is good at something!), I became fascinated by my dog, Ziggy. Yes, this is the brain power of my mornings.

I was reminded of a few things this morning as ZigDog tried to get his kibble out of the Buddy Ball feeder.

1. Get the low hanging fruit (er, kibble)
If what you want is laying right in front of you, just grab it! No excuses of “that was too easy” or “I don’t deserve it”. It’s there. You want it. It doesn’t NEED to be difficult to be worthwhile.

2. Do one thing at a time
Forget the multitasking. It doesn’t work. REALLY. It doesn’t work and you do not need to be the exception. If you are eating, eat with all you’ve got. If you are playing ball, play with all you’ve got. You don’t need to eat AND play ball. (I got that one because I threw the ball out to the yard in the middle of feeding time. I got a blank,  rather disgusted stare as if to say “Seriously? What do you think I am? I’m eating here!”)

3. Don’t give up if you are going after what you want.
Just keep trying. And try again. Or, like Dori in Finding Nemo, “just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.” You don’t need to explain it to others. You don’t need to feel stupid that you are trying the same thing that didn’t work moments before; Or running around trying from all different angles and positions. Each attempt from each angle may change the situation just enough, that when you come back to the beginning, it looks just a bit different and easier to solve.

4. You can still be scared by what you know.
ZigDog took a break from eating to sniff the grass. The Buddy Ball feeder rolled under ZigDog’s legs and hit his back paw. He jumped about a foot high, then saw what it was and resumed eating. So I remembered, it’s OK to be scared by the familiar. AND, if you are scared by something familiar, you have two choices:

LEAVE or GET OVER IT

There do not need to be any other decisions made. You know the situation, person, object so if your gut is telling you it’s scary, LEAVE IT. But if you figure out it was just a momentary awakening, then get over it an move on. Once again, no need to wander around feeling bad that you got scared by that which you already knew.

So, thanks, Ziggy for helping me see things a little clearer today. Now go get your leash, I want to explore the neighborhood again. There may be something new to sniff!

 

It’s in the perspective…

A simple but bizarre thing happened to me the other day.

I was making coffee and I was with a friend. No, THAT is not bizarre.  I make slow drip coffee party because I love the process, it makes the MAKING of coffee part of the ritual rather than just slamming the cup of coffee (although the joy of that is not lost on me some days! I boil the water, grind the beans, and use one of those single cup reusable filters.

Sounds good, but I generally make a mess. The other day, I poured the boiling water too fast and it splashed the grinds over the edge of the filter and down the cup.

Why am I writing this to you? Just to paint the picture that my friend saw this process – water, grinds, mug. Well, I went to clean up the coffee and in order to clean up my coffee mug, I ran some water on the handle, around the rim and some water went into the cup. My friend was astounded that I didn’t pour out the coffee, clean the mug and start again. Her exact words were “BUT, now you put tap water in your coffee. Doesn’t that make it grosss? Like water in your milk?”

WHAT? She just saw the entire process of WATER through the grinds. Coffee IS water, why would more make it gross?

So, it dawned on me that once again, it’s all the perspective. To my friend, once you run water through the grinds it becomes something else, entirely unrelated to water.

It’s like a class I took in college called “Deviant Behavior”. The professor asked a girl to spit in a cup for 1/2 hour while he lectured on something about acceptable behavior and context for social behavior. At the end, he asked the girl to drink the cup of spit. Gross, right? But what’s the difference of doing it that way versus swallowing your saliva all day just because that’s what we do as humans? It’s the perspective.

So, what is there in your life, that if you looked at it from a different perspective, might make more sense? Is there something you have or do that is like coffee, that maybe you forgot came from water? Are you trying to do something that is seemingly too difficult, but if you changed your perspective, you may find a more natural way to accomplish it?

Oh, I should tell you, my “friend” watching me make coffee is 6 years old. Does that change your perspective on the story?

And, her comment caught me off guard because for an instant, I thought, “oh yeah, I should pour out the coffee. That IS gross.” Does that change your perspective or me? oops!

 

When I look in the mirror…I see “Dog”.

ZiggyDog

As many of my clients know, our family adopted a dog in August 2008. He was four and came from a loving family. We were given the list of  his “issues” and thought, sure, EVERY dog has issues.  So, we took home “Shanti” and renamed him “ZigZag”, or Ziggy, for short. To us, he was the antithesis of “Shanti,” a Sanskrit word for calm, enlightened, innerpeace.  Oh, and he Zigged when we wanted him to Zag.

He’s supposed to follow.  He’s not supposed to think for himself.  He doesn’t need to make decisions. That’s what the Olympic Athletes of Dog Training on TV say.  And I KNOW that in my head and my heart.

But I watch him and reflect on my own life. I’ve never been a good follower.  I get bored easily but I also don’t like to make decisions.  I need to DO things and figure it out for myself.  Sometimes I even like to try new things just for the experience of being lost (*twitch* admitting control…issues…*twitch*).  I don’t work well FOR others, no matter how much they ROCK.  I just seem to always ask questions like…what would happen if we try it this way? could it be more efficient (or fun, or safe, or fast) if we do it that way?

And now, I see my Dog doing the same thing.  I know, I know…he’s a DOG.  Don’t let him think.  But when he won’t heel, won’t come when he’s called, displays anxious-aggressive-dominant-fearful-whacked mix of behaviors, I just sort of smile and nod with an “I know, I get it. That bush DOES seem like it could hold the secret to life, if only we could sniff it one more time” and “walking behind my leg IS boring. Who would want to follow?”

Every day, when I look in the mirror, I see “Dog”.  The universe has presented us, meaning me, with ME, as Dog. There is no coincidence in that. Thank you, Universe. Thank you, God!

I just can’t help but wonder, if I come back next life as a dog, could I be named Shanti? Would I be as difficult as Ziggy? Probably. Probably.

 

First Tracks

Hello out there! Okay, I HAVE to get something up here. The blank page is killing me!

So, here we are. I’m officially a “blogger”. EEK! Okay, I’ve been blogging before, I admit it (but there are NO pictures to prove it!) but I don’t think it counts when all the blogs are about crafting wedding centerpieces. That’s my other life right now.

THIS is supposed to be professional. So, welcome! And here is me. Professional me.

Doesn’t look much different, huh?

Heather Trying to hug a Viking?

Oops…now you know. The “professional” me, and the “real” me are pretty much united.  If you had higher expectations, sorry about that!

 

You reserve the right…

The sign in the cafe, when I entered, said that it reserved the right to refuse service to anyone. You reserve the right to do absolutely anything you want to do, I thought. Why put up signs to say so?
– Richard Bach, “The Bridge Across Forever”

We can often waste a LOT of energy stating and restating the obvious. But sometimes, we also assume the obvious is, well…OBVIOUS!

What are the ways in your life that you are wasting precious energy by stating or emphasizing the obvious? Is there a way you can move on to more important tasks or thoughts?

In what ways might you be ignoring the obvious, assuming everybody involved in your project, life, work, etc MUST know and be playing by the same rules? Is there a way you can simplify something in your life by restating the ground rules so that you know everyone is operating within the same boundaries and expectations?

Also, do you really think we have the right to do anything you want to do? How does that opinion positively affect your life? Are there any negative affects? What about how it affects those around you?