Many of my faithful readers will remember
Daisy, the funny little beagle who joined our lives approximately one year
ago. Right from the start, she was a
little crazy. Her antics had us laughing
more often than we would have expected, given that some very serious things had
been going on in our lives for several months before and after we adopted her.
Life has settled down considerably for us in the
past few months as we’ve sold a home, bought another, made the move, and formed
many excellent new friendships. We lost "the squire's" Mom in this past year and are still coming to terms with that grief. We also suffered through the illness and death of another beloved pet, a loss that also hit us hard. But we're in a better frame of mind now, especially after our recent week of holiday in a place where it was sunny and warm.
And
Daisy is still a little crazy. Just
today, I laughed so hard I nearly cried, watching her decide her right forepaw
made an excellent chew toy. She gnawed
vigorously at a spot between her paw and her “knee” joint, often reaching out
with the other paw to hold the right one down for a better grip, much as she
does with the nylon chew toys we provide for her. The funniest part came when she decided she’d
rather chew this delightful “bone” elsewhere, gripped it firmly in her teeth,
stood up still holding it in her mouth, and hopped on three legs to another
spot on the carpet to flop down and resume chewing her favourite toy.
I tried to video this feat but had no luck,
even though she did it three times. Part
of the reason for my failure was that I was laughing too hard to catch her in
the act with my Ipad shaking uncontrollably.
I was surprised she didn’t yelp in pain from chewing a little too hard,
as she seemed to be taking the whole enterprise very seriously. But eventually she did tire of this toy and
settled down to chewing one of her many other toys scattered about the living
room floor.
Sometimes we’re a little like Daisy, aren’t
we? Sometimes we just don’t see the good
things all around us, available for the taking, and actually hurt ourselves
trying to have something that looks better.
An old saying teaches that happiness is not about having what we want
but rather about wanting what we have.
Can we look around us and see how rich we really are? Perhaps we want to resolve to focus on
appreciating what we have and then we might forget to waste time and harm ourselves
wanting ever more.
If you’re reading this post, you’re rich;
you’ve been fortunate enough to be well educated. If you’re reading this post, you’re rich;
you have a computer, a tablet, a phone, or some kind of a device that allows
you to read whatever you want whenever you want to. If you’re
reading this post, you’re rich; you have leisure time and don’t have to spend
every waking moment seeking food and shelter. When we stop focusing on what we don't have and learn to appreciate what we do have, our mental health benefits. Suddenly we're positive in outlook and peaceful in our spirits, never a bad thing, I'm sure you'd agree. And it all comes from adopting an attitude of gratitude.
Don’t be crazy like Daisy. Choose to be thankful for all that you have.
