Lessons from my dog

This one's short because of what it did

Has it ever occurred to you that life delivers the lessons we’re here to learn in the most untraditional ways? Things always seem to show up when I least expect them from the least expected place. Omg my dog is so advanced!

He’s a rescue, they found him abandoned in a field and brought him to the humane society. I’d already been looking for a dog, but I thought I wanted a husky. I’d had my hands on 2 but neither worked out. The first one I was coming back in the morning to get. He left within the hour after I left the day before. Within the hour? seriously, they didn’t even take the dog for a walk. So when I come back this last time I see a border collie with something else mixed in and he’s on medical evaluation. That means he just arrived and is going through being checked by a vet. He’s black and white and a little thin but bright brown eyes that seem really clear. His tail is wagging and as I stand at the window, he comes over and meets my look. The kind of look that says “I don’t know what I did”. IF you’ve ever adopted a shelter dog you might have seen that look. It can break your heart it seems so sad, but it also speaks to how much he might have loved his family.

I’ve had Jack for almost 5 months so time enough for us to get to know each other pretty well. Now the lessons he’s here to teach me are showing up abundantly. I sit at my computer, oddly enough in substack, and I lose track of time. My dog sits patiently, seldom changes spots, I notice when or if he does. And if I move my chair even quietly and microscopically, he moves like greased lightening. He’s up, tail wagging and ready for anything especially if it might involve him. And that’s what led me to write this:

I transmuted Jack’s actions into something to be interpreted. I asked a question. Does Father/Spirit sit and wait for me to move, just a little bit, a fraction of a fraction, that causes my attention to turn toward him and does he then jump in my direction waiting for me to say, “Let’s go!”. I have to say, I think so, now. In fact, I know so.

Father/Spirit is never gone, he’s never too busy, he’s never far away at all. He delivers me messages all the time, it just depends on if I am listening. IF I stop and pay attention, (that’s a challenge you see), and long enough for him to get a word, a feeling, a breath, a thought in, my whole perception changes.

If I slow down, how is it that all that I thought I had to get done, got done? I was going slower, I didn’t run, I didn’t juggle 12 things at once and it got done? How? I was paying attention more to what was going on in me that what was going on around me. By turning my attention inward, nothing more, the world lost its place in producing stress and confusion. By not prioritizing the confusion, I found focus. IN finding focus, I found right direction and then the steps that I needed to take to get things done just appeared in a proper order. NO wasted time or energy and not a moment in that confusion of what to do next. I was wayyyyy more productive.

I looked up and was confused. Where did my list go? I had it right here a moment ago. Now what did I do with it!!! I stood up and looked at a little pile and started going through it, sheet by sheet, message by message and everything it that pile was done. I sat down and of course now Jack’s head is on my leg and his little whimper is saying pet me. So I do of course. And in that precise moment, I realized what I’ve written here. He was so focused on getting attention from me, and I saw that he was, that it instilled in me the energy to focus that I got all my stuff done with time to spare!

So, my dog Jack, a rescue, by waiting so patiently and jumping when I paused and moved my chair back to get up, retaught me how to focus just by being himself, my dog. He paid attention, the thing I needed to do. He was focused on me, and I needed to focus on what I needed to do. He taught me a lesson today. I am so grateful to have him. I thought he was lucky I found him when I did. Now, I think I’m lucky that he found me. He’s still not sleeping on my bed though……. Not yet anyway. Good Boy Jack!