Do you have a dog? Do you want one? 😉😉😉
In October we got a dog. It was a blessing but also felt like a curse at times...puppies are so hard!! There are few things like a dog that teach you that you don't have any control over your life! (Uh, kids might be worse 😉) We took one day at a time and got to celebrate his first birthday on Saturday! All the chaos and lack of control was worth it, looking back. He has brought tremendous joy to our lives.
Here are two lessons I have learned from MY DOG:
1. You can't control everything.
And if you try, it will blow up in your face...or you will live in a bubble that brings little joy to your life. All the parts of my life that bring the most joy also bring the most potential chaos. Life is uncertain. Instead of trying to control it, we need to learn compassion, patience, and perspective in order to ride the wave of anxiety when it comes.
2. Pauses in life can be healing
When we got Ozzy in October my husband had just finished intense outpatient OCD therapy, our 18 yr old was in the same intense outpatient OCD therapy, two of our other kids were in weekly OCD therapy and I had just had knee surgery. Um, it was intense. And then we got a dog 🤣 I remember sitting outside with him and just watching him play. I had to slow down and let him play. I didn't want to slow down. I wanted to stay busy and avoid facing to intense emotions I was feeling. But there I sat. I am so grateful for those moments that taught me that slowing down and pausing can often times be far more healing than doing more.
Tell me honestly now...Now do you want a dog? LOL
But seriously, what blessings do you see from having a dog/pet? Or tell me why you don't have one.
xoxo, Betsy