Pawsitive thoughts
The Dog

My mom may have been called a bitch but she taught me some pawsitive things that still serve me well and keep me well and happy.

1. Stretch when you wake up and regularly through the day. Pups do this automatically. Us elders need to think about it more. It improves the muscle tone, increases muscle control, and improves flexibility and range of motion.

2. Give thanks for your blessings. Start everyday with a small paws for the things you are grateful for. Pepper you day with thoughts of what you are grateful for… big or wee. It will help keep your attitude positive and your will strong. Sometimes blessings are in disguise. Give thanks for them too.

3. Give thanks for your lessons. Sometimes things are easy and come with training treats. Sometimes they are harder and not easy to understand. Take time to give thanks for all your lessons for they make you who you are and lay the groundwork for the next steps.

4. Look at your reflection and contemplate where you are and where you want to go. When I see another dog in the mirror, reflected back at me, I see the beauty of who I am, who I am becoming and whom I will be. I leave a trail of paw prints behind me making it easier for the next pup to follow! What trail have you blazed? Big or small we love them all!

5. When you do something you love. Do it passionately, go full out! This is the joy of life. Do not miss out on it!!

6. Take time to touch a loved one, Snuggle, hug. Makes everyone a little better. Touch is a great healer!

7. Trust. It is all already taken care of. Everything and everyone and every occurrence is for a reason. You may not understand right now…. But you will!

8. Let your creativity speak. Do not squash it or judge it or make it not good enough. When your muse speaks through you, you do not know where the message is needed.

9. Enjoy what you do and do what you enjoy. If you are not either change the activity or change your attitude about it. Why spend any time in misery?

10. Be yourself, be comfortable!

You hear many movies, articles, speakers and media make life references to “circles”. Circles have no beginning or end.

I like to think life as more like a series of continuous joined spirals. You finish one level of a spiral’s ring and you move up to the next, often learning things you have tackled before but at a higher level.

Sometimes the next level is harder, sometimes it is easier.

Our lives are really a series of continuous improvements.

For instance, on Level 1 of the spiral, if I tell a lie, it comes back and causes me grief. I learn next round that it is hard to remember a lie, next round I learn that if I am honest I do not have to have a good memory and life is a lot less stressed.

We have many of these lessons spiralling around at any one time.  Sometimes it can make your head spin.  If that happens, remember to take a deep breath and stay calm. Reach out to a coach or friend if you need some help getting clarity.  Most important, remember that all lessons will eventually spiral away.

In my travels I find myself emulating people I admire and respect, who are well spoken and seem confident.

To learn and grow, I might read a blog or article or book,  I might listen to a course, participate in on line learning. These could lead to new behaviours.  Ultimately I pick up new behaviours faster by seeing the behaviours in action.

I hear myself change as I assimilate the mannerisms of those I surround myself with.

Lessons Learned:

1- Set an example to those around you through your actions, words and deeds.

2- Surround yourself by positive, supportive, good people who can help you with positive growth.

3- Release people around you who are negative and could drag you down.  People who have “potty”mouth (i.e. use a lot of profanity), people who are mean, stingy

4- Take some time to be a positive mentor along the way – be it for a short time over over an extended relationship.  What you give out comes back to you at least 10 fold.

5- Watch what you think.  Try and replace the negative with the positive.  Be mindful of this.

6- Think about what you watch.  TV, radio, Social media can all have influence.

7- Take time to go within, meditate, contemplate.

8- Be kind to yourself and others.  We all evolve as we travel along.  Give yourself space to do so and leave room for others to do the same. Compassion paves the way to help yourself and others.

9- Check in with your mentor when you need honest feedback. Monitor your own thoughts and behaviours. Adjust your behaviours as required and repeat!  Also look at people around you who might annoy, irritate or “rub you the wrong way” they too have something to teach you.

10-   Be open and receptive. Watch for clues around you to see how you are coming across to others and  make the positive changes you need to project who you would like to be seen as. Continually strive to improve yourself and others. Changing yourself changes the world around you.

Enjoy your journey!

I have found during my journey that the times I am alone, I do not feel lonely.  In fact, I like my own company.

If I feel the need for contact, I can always reach out.

I have learned that I need quiet time.  It is time for me to meditate more, contemplate more, create more, play more and overall re-charge my batteries.  I allow the universal energies to flow though me and around me, unencumbered.  I am at my most creative yet focused and productive.

Rounding everyone up into one place and trying to get  them to function in the same way is not the most effective.  This is similar in concept to trying to get everyone  to  learn in the same way.  Some are visual, some are auditory, some are tactile, some are very scent influenced, some are social an some are not, some are hands on… most of us are a combination with a dominant style.

If we learned to respect and accept each others differences we would be in a better position to allow each to be at their best. We would thereby get the most out of each individual while also meeting their social, physical and creative needs.

True work-Life Balance does not need to mean a separation of the two but a gentle blending by using the best environment for each individual in each circumstance.

We all have our own styles, our own “colour”.

I realized that some friends are with you for a long time, some friends are with you for a short time, but you always have the perfect person in your life at the perfect time. The universe works this way.  You do not need to ever be alone, unless you choose to be.

In this wonderful space I was in where I had many of my own kind, it was interesting who hung around with whom and when.

On a really breezy day, I found myself hanging with others of strength and resilience.  Learning from them how to hang on when required.  They would offer tips, tools and lead by example.

Depending on the circumstances, surroundings and who was participating in this lesson with me,  I would be taught a new lesson, reminded of a lesson or value, totally shifted the way I looked at something, discovered something totally new.  It was a whole world of lessons. Every lesson, whether I judge them as good or bad, is valuable.

I have been blessed with some wonderful companions along the way.

I was confused and disoriented after tumbling around in a revolving drum full of water and then air.  I saw many of my species revolving around as well.  At least I now know there are many of my kind.  There were many colours, styles and patterns.  I wonder why I am purple?

One good thing is we were not socks.  The poor sock species,  sometimes a pair of two went in but only one sock came out. What happens to the other sock?  I guess that is a mystery for another time.

Another side note that I have been wondering about a pair of panties versus a panty.  What does a panty look like?

Now, clean, dry and tidy, my new family and I were tucked into a cozy dark space.  Every day it seemed that one of us was pulled from the pack by our human charge.  It seems that part of our role was to be under cover and to protect our human from exposures.

I wondered about what reasoning was behind the human’s choice of colour and style?

It turns out that our human hosts were sensitive to  the energies the colours represented.  Humans are a giant network of connecting vibrations and energies.

On the simplest level, there are 7 main chakras (body energy discs that spin clock wise or counter clockwise).  Each of these disks is best augmented by a certain color (also scents, shapes, tastes etc., but for today we will talk about color).

Here is a quick guide:

Root Chakra – Connection and Grounding – Red

Sacral Chakra – Center of Creativity – Orange

Solar Plexus Chakra – Power Center – Yellow

Heart Chakra – Love, Self and Others – Green  (Some include pink for the soul)

Throat Chakra – Communication, Speaking your own Truth. – Blue

Third Eye – Intuition – Indigo or Lavender

Crown Chakra – Connection to Higher Self – Purple

By choosing a certain colour of panty the human was knowingly or instinctively choosing a colour that could potentially augment and support  a certain power centre that day.

Panties are a great way to add colour to the clothes as by our nature of being undercover, we do not have to match up with the rest of the wardrobe.  Another in-site to my purpose –  to bring supportive energy around self actualization when asked!!