The Teachings of Dog - No 14: What If...?

"Do not borrow trouble - the rate of interest is too high."  - Anne of Green Gables

With five canine members of staff in the household, there is often drama and excitement of some sort, and yesterday it was Daisy's turn for the spotlight...  Her accidental ingestion of something unfortunate on an empty stomach interrupted our leisurely Sunday morning rituals and resulted in frantic phonecalls to the vet and a speedy drive to the exceptionally kind and wise Stephen Hudson at Grace Lane Vets.

The drive normally takes half an hour - to me, in the driving seat, one hand occasionally straying to caress the tiny, furry head at my side, it seemed to take an age.  My imagination , always fertile, was propelled into overdrive as increasingly creative and disastrous images played out in my mind.  I seemed to be stuck behind every slow-moving vehicle in North Yorkshire, including a large number of classic cars en route to a rally, for whom 40mph was a seldom-attained speed...

When we finally arrived, Stephen greeted me with a smile and the news that his research had revealed it was pretty harmless to dogs, especially in the tiny amount which Daisy had eaten, so it wouldn't even be necessary to make her sick.  Daisy, cuddled up in my arms, disagreed with her medical advisor and summed up her opinion of her disturbed morning by returning her forbidden snack, with interest, over my shoulder.  Returning home, at a much less frantic pace, she then happily tucked into her belated breakfast and danced out into the garden - her usual, carefree, dandelion-seed self.

Daisy's Teachings:

• A problem is often only a problem in our own minds - if we were not thinking about it, would it still exist?
• "What If...?" can be useful, but what if we imagine something good happening, rather than something bad?
• You cannot keep five dogs away from something that accidentally falls on the floor at breakfast time (unless it's a worming tablet, obviously!).

Planting for the Future

Down in Guernsey last week I spent a lot of time with my friends, in their enormous vinery, helping to plant out tomatoes, peppers and beans; and outside in the vegetable garden, weeding and planting leeks, sprouts and carrots.  Gardening is a really therapeutic pastime; there is something about spending time in the sunshine, with your hands in warm earth, that truly feeds the soul... 

As I weeded and planted, I was reminded of a lovely story which I came across recently - After a heavy rain, an old man began digging holes in his garden.  His neighbour asked him, "What are you doing?"  "Planting mango trees", he said.  The neighbour asked, "Do you expect to eat mangoes from those trees?"  He replied, "No, I won't live long enough for that; but others will.  All my life I have enjoyed mangoes planted by other people - this is my way of showing them my gratitude."

We often take for granted all the things we have around us, and the food which we buy for our table; forgetting that all of these are the result of somebody else's hard work.  Take some time today to feel gratitude for those who are working to feed and clothe us, and whom we will never meet.  It's also worth contemplating that the seeds we plant today will bear fruit in the future; so if you want an abundant harvest, consider carefully what seeds you must plant - and plant them now!

An abundance of beauty

As I write, I am sitting at the top of the cliff above Petit Bot bay in the lovely island of Guernsey.  I am surrounded by an outrageously beautiful display of nature's abundance; tiny, embryonic green sloes abound in the aftermath of frothy blossom, and at my feet, clustering ivy leaves entwine the stems of the bushes, while radiant daisies turn their faces to the sun.

Pink campion, purple violets, bluebells, speedwell, pennywort, scabious, primrose - all jostle together amongst the nodding grasses in a rampant festival of colour and a celebration of life and of the Spring.

Abundance is all around us - we just need to change our focus in order to see it.  Instead of focusing on lack, or of things we don't want in our lives, spend some time focusing your attention on what you do want, and on the abundance that is all around you, and watch as your focus expands...

New Growth

The lengthening days of wonderful warm, spring sunshine have wrought an annual miracle in the vegetable patch... tiny green seedlings of pea, bean and spinach are thrusting their way through the soil, lifting tiny leaves skyward and bringing life to the bare, brown soil. 

The miracle of new growth is an awesome reminder of the wonder of nature, for inside each acorn lies the dream of an oak forest...

What seeds are you planting in this time of new growth?  Whatever your dreams and plans, make sure you tend and water them so that they grow into magnificent fulfillment!

The Teachings of Dog - No 13: The Art of Giving and Receiving

"Even after all this time, the sun never says to the earth, 'You owe me'.  Look what happens with a love like that - it lights the whole sky."  - Hafiz of Persia 

Lily and her canine colleagues are all masters of the art of unconditional giving - and of receiving. Lily will happily spend long periods of time patiently cleaning Poppy's eyes, or Theo's ears - and they, in their turn, will happily let her. As a puppy, when teething, Theo would chew enthusiastically on his mother, Lily's, ears, while she lay patiently, not seeming to mind the soggy outcome, or the subsequent crispiness of dried, licked fur.


What happens when we give somebody a gift, or an offer of help...  Do we expect something in return?  Are we offended if the person receiving it doesn't like our gift, or chooses to give it away again to somebody else?  The Aborigines would say, if we have that sort of attachment to a gift, then it is not a gift at all, it is something else.  If it is a true gift then it is given unconditionally; we should not mind at all what the other person chooses to do with it, and certainly have no expectation of receiving anything in exchange.

And when somebody offers us a gift, do we receive it graciously and with gratitude - or do we feel beholden to the giver and consider that we have to reciprocate in some way?  When we accept a gift with genuine gratitude we are already giving something back to the giver - the gift of true appreciation.

The meaning of communication is the response you get

It has often been said that, in any communication, the words that are used are of vastly less importance than the tone of voice and the body language of the person speaking.  (Notice how many different meanings you can make to the phrase "good morning" depending on how you say it!) 

Long after someone has forgotten precisely what words you used, they will remember how you made them feel.  How are you making your clients feel?  Your friends?  Your family?  Your partner?  Would you rather be remembered as a kind person, or someone who always has to be right?  Sometimes it is good to think a moment before speaking, and imagine how your communication might be received; how would it make you feel?

Notice what happens in your communications when you focus more on the feelings of the other person than the importance of your own words.  Listen more than you speak, with kindness and compassion, and feel your kindness and compassion being reflected right back to you.

Using the gift of your past, in the present, to create your future...

"With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift.  Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing.  You get to choose."

- Dr Wayne Dyer

Right now is the only moment available to you for change and growth.  In this moment, are you being a victim of circumstance, or are you being master of your own destiny?  When we blame circumstances or other people, make excuses, give way to negativity, we are giving away our personal power.  Take responsibility for your reality; what decisions have you made in the past that have created the circumstances of your world as it is today?  What is there to learn from those decisions?  What decisions can you take today that will influence how you can create your wonderful future?