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When you bring a dog into your life, you
begin a journey. A journey that will bring you more love and
devotion than you have ever known, yet will also test your
strength and courage. If you allow it, the journey will teach you
many things, about life, about yourself, and most of all, about
love. You will come away changed forever, for one soul cannot
touch another without forever leaving its mark.
Along the way, you will learn much about savoring life's simple
pleasures -- jumping in leaves, snoozing in the sun, the joys of
puddles, and even the satisfaction of a good scratch behind the
ears.
If you spend much time outside, you will be taught how to truly
experience every element, for no rock, leaf, or log will go
unexamined, no rustling bush will be overlooked, and even the very
air will be inhaled, pondered, and noted as being full of valuable
information.
Your pace may be slower, except when heading home to the food
dish, but you will become a better naturalist, having been taught
by an expert in the field. Too many times we hike on automatic
pilot, our goal being to complete the trail rather than enjoy the
journey. We miss the details: the colorful Mushrooms on the
rotting log, the honeycomb in the old maple snag, the hawk feather
caught on a twig.
Once we walk as a dog does, we discover a whole new world. We
stop; we browse the landscape, we kick over leaves, peek in tree
holes, look up, down, all around. And we learn what any dog knows:
that nature has created a marvelously complex world that is full
of surprises, that each cycle of the seasons bring ever changing
wonders, that each day has an essence all its own.
Even from indoors, you will find yourself more attuned to the
world around you. You will find yourself watching: summer insects
collecting on a screen; how bizarre they are; how many kinds there
are; or noting the flick and flash of fireflies through the dark.
You will stop to observe the swirling dance of windblown leaves,
or sniff the air after a rain. It does not matter that there is no
objective in this; the point is in the doing, in not letting
life's most important details slip by.
You will find yourself doing silly things that your dog-less
friends might not understand: spending thirty minutes in the
grocery aisle looking for the exact brand of food your companion
must have, buying dog birthday treats, or just driving around the
block an extra time because your dog enjoys the ride. You will
roll in the snow, wrestle with chewie toys, bounce tennis balls
till your eyes cross, and even run around the house trailing your
bathrobe tie with a puppy in hot pursuit, all in the name of love.
Your house will become muddier and hairier. You will wear less
dark clothing and buy more lint rollers. You may find dog biscuits
in your pocket or purse, and feel the need to explain that old
socks adorn your living room floor because your dog loves an
impromptu game of tug. You will learn the true measure of
love--the steadfast, undying kind that says, "It doesn't matter
where we are or what we do, or how life treats us as long as we
are together."
Respect this always. It is the most precious gift any living soul
can give another. You will not find it often among the human race.
And you will learn humility. The look in my dog's eyes often made
me feel ashamed--such joy and love at my presence! She saw not
some flawed human who could be cross and stubborn, moody or rude,
but only her wonderful companion. Or maybe she saw those things
and dismissed them as mere human foibles, not worth considering,
and so chose to love me anyway. If you pay attention and learn
well, when the journey is done, you will be not just a better
person, but the person your dog always knew you to be--the one
they were proud to call beloved friend.
I must caution you that this journey is not without pain. Like all
paths of true love, the pain is part of loving. For as surely as
the sun sets, one day your dear companion will follow a trail you
cannot yet go down. And you will have to find the strength and
love to let them go. A dog's time on earth is far too short,
especially for those of us that love them. We borrow them, really,
just for a while; and during these brief years they are generous
enough to give us all their love, every inch of their spirit and
heart, until one day there is nothing left. The dog that only
yesterday was a puppy is all too soon old and frail and sleeping
in the sun. The young pup of boundless energy now wakes up stiff
and lame, the muzzle gone to gray. Deep down we somehow always
knew that this journey would end. We knew that if we gave our
hearts they would be broken. But give them we must, for it is all
they ask in return.
When the time comes, and the road curves ahead to a place we
cannot see, we give one final gift and let them run on ahead,
young and whole once more. "God speed, good friend," we say,
"until our journey comes full circle and our paths will cross
again."
~~ Author unknown ~~
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