I came across a Facebook post some time ago called “The Dogs Diary” listing a dog’s day in one hour slots from 8am to 11 pm including things like Breakfast, Going in the Car, Going for a walk, Playing ball, Sleeping etc. All pretty normal doggie stuff and each sentence was followed by the line ……”My Favourite Thing”
This diary reminds me very much of a Black Labrador I had some years ago called Tank. His heavy tail used to wag and thump almost non-stop from early morning to late at night except of course when he was sleeping. It is said that a dog comes into a person’s life and waits a while to teach us something….
Tank loved just about everything
Jumping into my van to go for a spin
Jumping out of it again when we arrived at our walking place
Swimming in and coming back out of the water and having a good shake
Long walks followed by a good sleep afterwards
I used to bring him to visit a school for children with special needs, he loved going in and he also loved coming back out having brought joy to many. We would go for a nice walk on the beach afterwards.
Like most dogs Tank just lived in the moment and loved it. He would bounce out of bed in the morning never thinking …oh No do I really have to get up today!
Most people on the other hand spend a lot of time living in the future
Thinking and worrying about what might happen and wondering if we should do something or not
Should I go to that event/function/meeting?
and what will people think if I go? What will they think if I don’t go?
Many years ago I asked a relative for advice regarding a two year course that I wanted to do but was unsure about the commitment. His reply was “the next two years will go by anyway whether you do it or not” but he helpfully added “new knowledge is never a burden to carry”
Sometimes we attach far too much importance to what might happen and talk ourselves out of new learning and experiences because we worry about taking the first step. Nowadays where possible I embrace opportunities and feel much better because of it. Living in and enjoying the present moment is just one of the many lessons I learned from my lovely dog Tank.