Walking with my dog Harper could be a frustrating experience if I let it be.
I love him dearly, but he’s a challenge to walk. When he was a pup, and I was not as good at being Alpha Dog, he pulled me over and I broke my ankle, on a walk. He’s a strong dog. And a willful one sometimes.
Nowadays, the challenge is more about where he’d like to go vs where I’d like to go. I’m a lot stronger and I have developed more command presence, at least with my dogs. 🙂
Tonight, on a sunset walk, we were in our usual push-pull dynamic when I suddenly realized that I can choose not to enforce my will in this situation anymore. It was a classic Duh Moment.
It is only a push-pull because I have an agenda when we walk. I have a plan about where we’ll go and how fast we’ll get there.
What I realized tonight was that there is no reason for me to have an agenda when we walk. It seems like I have agendas for a lot of things in my life, and I’d frankly like to be freed of some of them.
Apart from starting and finishing at the house, and having an approximate time frame in mind for our walks, I can let go of my agenda, and see where it takes us.
We have to be safe, but Harper sits by the side of the road when cars come by, so that isn’t a problem.
I realized that as long as I stay fully present, I could give into Harper’s wandering aimlessly.
This was a revelation, much like what I discovered in Harper Time.
We noticed a crocus bloom, with a honey bee collecting the nectar.
We visited the pond. There were ducks there. They had just arrived from their winter migration area. The frogs were singing.
We went by the stand of blue spruce, where some red-winged blackbirds and robins were serenading us as they settled in for the night.
We made a pass by the lone tree in the school yard, to check for new scents.
And when we reached the end of the lane by the school, Harper was ready to turn around and head back. Easy; he didn’t pull at all, because I wasn’t resisting.
When we got home, I sat down to think about where in my life I am making things more challenging than they need to be, just by virtue of my habits or beliefs, and where I can lighten up!
Harper just wants to enjoy his life, and I can take a page out of his playbook.
Stay tuned to see if we end up in the middle of a muddy cornfield on our next walk! 🙂
Where would you like to lighten up in your life?
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