Good evening Journal & Friends,
No trash! Bad dog! NO TRASH!!
She freezes, drops the trash, backs away, hangs her head in shame... then after I've cleaned up the mess, she slowly comes to me, looking at me earnestly with her expressive brown eyes. And yes, once again, I am a puddle, melted by Joey's trust.
(Joey is a mini-schnauzer)
She trusts that I will forgive her, that I will not hit her or hurt her. She trusts that I love her, and that after I have given her a command (like Sit) that I know she can be successful at, I will enfold her once again in cuddles and praise.
She is only 10 months old, yet she KNOWS, without a shadow of a doubt, that she is loved. We've worked hard to teach her good manners, yet there are a couple of things she just finds irresistable. One is Doggy Delicacies (eating kitty poop! ewwww). The other is the trash. Any trash. All trash. We've put lids on them, sprayed them with abracadabra-magic-keeps-dogs-away spray, watched like a hawk and caught her in the act, to make sure she understands which action is unacceptable, etc etc. All to no avail.
Caught in the act!
After she is caught and reproved--a firm NO TRASH! with a frowning shake of the head is big stuff to her-- she is always repentant and wants to please me. She promises to do better next time... okay, that's the interpretation I give to her big brown eyed look, and her need for cuddles and reassurance.
So I've been thinking... you KNEW I'd tie this ramble in with weight loss, yes??! :-D
Do I treat myself with that much firmness yet love when I goof up?
When I do that thing that I KNOW I'm not supposed to do??
Do I face the music, accept responsibility, then move on, and give myself a hug and encouragement, determined to do better next time??
Do I not beat myself up and instead feel secure that I am my own best friend on this journey??
I want to learn to be a better friend to myself. Yes, to reach up for a higher standard. To succeed, to do better, to make my goals. And to do all that not with harshness or threats or punishment... but with honesty, encouragement, understanding, and yes, Love.
I don't believe that kind of Love is namby pamby, wishy washy. Because it knows how heartbreaking it feels to keep falling on my face. It understands how disappointing it feels that this has taken soooo long. That kind of Love is strong and wants the best for me. It will tell me the truth, but will also tell me I can DO this!
I'll never give up on Joey, and will continue to help her learn good manners, so she can have a happy and healthy life. Likewise, I want to never give up on myself.
Sometimes... I get discouraged, and can see the edge of that black hole. You know, the one that says "just accept it, this is the way it's gonna be". But I repeatedly turn my back on that black hole, and walk the other way... as many times as it takes.
I choose to believe in myself. I choose to believe that God has never given up on me. And I won't either.
Call this Lessons From A Puppy # 9
Treating Myself with Love and Respect
and Holding On To The Belief
That I Can DO This!
From Dr Phil's book: "Every success or failure you will have flows from that self-determined personal truth."
My verse for today: "When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted."
My quote for today: "If it's ever going to change, we have to accept the challenge and rise above our circumstances." --Sean Anderson
Enjoy the Journey,
Loretta
=^..^=
DAY 780
14 comments:
Hi Loretta! I've often thought about how my dog Keebler loves me so much and thinks I'm such a perfect momma to him. Once, my daughter said, "Keebler heals your childhood, doesn't he!" Yes, he definitely does. He shows me everyday how wonderful I am. He follows me absolutely everywhere and howls like a big baby if I'm upstairs while he is still downstairs. We really are that great as our dogs think.
:-) Marion
Thanks, Loretta. :)
Deb
LOVE IT!! Self-love is important. Being kind to and firm with yourself sounds perfect.
Don't you love knowing you created such a great environment for Joey to grow and learn?
I have a refrigerator magnet that reads: May I always be the kind of person my dog thinks I am. I too have learned much from my beloved pooches. Yes, we should treat ourselves as well as we treat those we love so much. I can feel the upswing in you!
yep i ate ravioli tonight knowing its bad for me. Sigh.
Loretta-
I needed this this morning...thank you.
You, Me, and the Dog - all of us need to stay out of the trash!
Joey is so darn cute, I understand how you feel about this. we all need to love ourselves and be forgiving for sure. I am so here with you sista....sending big hugs your way.
I love how you said you want to be a friend to yourself. That has been so key with me. There are so many other influences tearing us down, we don't have to do that to ourselves! It is so important to be our own best friend and forgive ourselves so we can move on and feel God's love for us!
I can relate to your doggie story now that we finally have dogs. They are so humble, forgiving, repentant, and non judging. We should all be more like our dogs that way! :)
Take care!
~Margene
Lovely as always Loretta!
She is such a beautiful cockapoo?
Love your quotes. Glad I stopped in.
My dog is a canine trash compactor...funny how we won't feed our dogs certain things...(twinkies and cheese for instance0 but we will shove them down our gullets. life is amusing. No trash...Good post.
I think it's very important to learn to love ourselves, honestly and without picking on ourselves all the time. We are who we are, if we can learn to work with that, yea.
My cat just rolled her eyes at me. It was so teenager, it made me laugh. Wish I could have caught that on film. The expression was so, "Oh, Mom!"
Joey is probably the cutest dog I have ever seen. We can learn a lot from our pets. Be as kind to yourself as you are to Joey. You are a lovely person!
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