Present Moment Awareness: Lessons From My Dog

I've always waited for the perfect moment to be happy: As though time were a flower waiting to bloom. My scruffy puppy-happy senior dog knows better. Watching his tail wag as he stands in the middle of a mud puddle, I now understand that happiness is where your heart is, not just where your legs travel.

Last summer we moved into the house of our dreams: Beautiful, big and by a football-sized off-leash dog park. Finally a chance for my Border collie cross, Tucker, to exercise his herding instincts by running ahead of me across an expansive field. Yet it didn't work out that way.

Whoever wrote "every dog has his day" must have seen my dog stretching into sunset at the dog park. He was happy. I was happy. It didn't last. Things appeared fine at first as Tucker romped and ran, sniffed roaming canine rumps and rested. Soon however, rest took precedence. Running slowed to a dawdle and Tucker's yearn to exert fell to panting apathy. He was exhausted. I was scared. I understand that as dogs age they prefer rest rather than racing, but this wasn't it. Something was wrong.

Only 8 months after Tucker and I arrived at his doggy mecca, his health required that we visit his most dreaded destination: The vet. Dogs don't like vets. Every time you take a dog to the vet it's like taking a child to the dentist without the lure of the lollipop that follows. Tucker was not happy. He wriggled on the table as the doggie doctor poked, prodded and became the stuff of doggy nightmares. Yet there was something for Tucker to be thankful for; he could hear neither the diagnosis nor prognosis. Apparently Tucker has a disk in his spine that was slowly crumbling, making it increasingly harder for him to romp. No more running. No more leaping to fetch a stick mid-air. His days of glory spent embracing that part of him that's Border collie frantic are over. Forever.

At first I cried. I was angry. I wanted our time at the dog park to last forever. Now all that will last is its memory. Yet this has taught me a valuable lesson: Happiness does not happen on a schedule. I missed many potential happy hours by staring resentfully at my tiny back yard instead of throwing a ball across it. Now I'd give anything to watch Tucker run around the corners of that worn wooden fence. But he can't run. Not far. Not often. Not anymore.

Yet today we're happy. As cheeky as it is to speak for my dog, I believe he doesn't miss his fleet feet and agility. How do I know? His tail and ears bear witness. The grass is still soft and the frayed stick still magnificent in its resistance. Age doesn't change this. Health doesn't change this. The only thing that changes this is attitude.

My dog is getting older. One day, maybe soon, I will only stroke his smiling face through the lens of a photo frame. But today as I pat him, smell his earthy odor and hear the occasional jingle of his dog collar, I can't help but smile. I've waited a long time for an excuse to be happy. Tucker wags his tail like a rapid pendulum as I offer him a rejected section of toast. He savors it like steak.

Sometimes I wish I were as smart as my dog.

Galina Pembroke is the publisher and editor of New View online magazine, as well as an internationally published writer. She specializes in health. New View magazine features articles on health, self-help, alternative therapies, spirituality, animal rights and more. Visit us at http://www.nuvunow.ca

---

Death of a Parent: Saying Good-Bye to Mommy or Daddy

Coping with the death of a loved one is never... Read More

Dying? Not Me! Why You Should Plan for Transition

Remember the Eulogy projects we had to write back in... Read More

Physiological Consequences of Carrying Emotional Trauma

Although many of us carry some form of emotional trauma... Read More

Death Poem

During the two years of my husband's terminal illness, death... Read More

How To Heal Your Heart

We all experience severe heart break at some time in... Read More

How to Turn Grief into Joy

I was with my daddy when he died. Excuse me,... Read More

Made in Heaven

Consumed by my loss, I didn't notice the hardness of... Read More

The Truth About Emotional Intelligence

There is so much emphasis on emotional intelligence these days... Read More

Grief

I didn't know a heart could die before it stopped... Read More

Present Moment Awareness: Lessons From My Dog

I've always waited for the perfect moment to be happy:... Read More

The Walking Wounded

When my phone rang the other day, it was a... Read More

Death, Close and Personal

I got an email recently from someone whose mother died.... Read More

Whats It All About?

For most people life is a fairly ordinary existence -... Read More

Liberation

It is one thing to be free; it is quite... Read More

Silent Tears - from a Norwegian Hospital

Silent tears hit hospital-white sheets. The young Pakistani mother holds... Read More

One Stray Tear

The delight lit my face as the couple turned the... Read More

When Sorrow Is Too Great to Be Borne Alone, Support Groups Reach Out

Not long after Arlyn died, my husband and I decided... Read More

Graceful Grief: Angelic Help is on the Way!

I believe that major change and loss in our lives... Read More

Beyond A Mothers Nightmare To Radical Forgiveness

It was a moment I will never forget.On February 22,... Read More

Watching Death

Like it or not, we think in line with our... Read More

Grief Masks

October makes me think of Halloween, and Halloween makes me... Read More

On Empathy

The Encyclopaedia Britannica (1999 edition) defines empathy as:"The ability to... Read More

A Critical Assessment of Euthanasia

The question of whether, say, a man should have the... Read More

Traumas as Social Interactions

("He" in this text - to mean "He" or "She").We... Read More

Miracles?

If we were to organize a list of the thorniest... Read More

You Can Help A Grieving Heart

Oh, we can talk about the best cold medications and... Read More

One Womans Way of Dealing With Grief

All of us at one time or another have felt... Read More

Suicide in the Church Part 1

Recently, several suicides have occurred right here in my own... Read More

Suicide in the Church, Part 3

Suicide strikes...AGAIN!This may wind up being the most important article... Read More

Men and Grief

Men grieve differently from women. Our cultural roles make it... Read More

We are the Reflection of our Lives: How to Survive Loss & Humility

Everyday, I look in the mirror to see the face... Read More

Who has the Worst Pain

During the 28 years I have been interacting with bereaved... Read More

What this Rabbi Learned from Not being Re-hired

It's a familiar story, and I have been through it... Read More