Puppy Joy

I learn so much about  raising my Joy Factor from my dogs.

Until recently, we only had Abbey Road, our Australian Shepherd. We just adopted Eli Moses Velcro Watkins  a month and a half ago. He is a border collie/terrier/hound/wild man mix. Abbey is 8 years old and we think Eli is a year and a half or so. They have raised my Joy Factor in ways  I could not have imagined. Watching them play with each other is so sweet – it fills my heart with joy. They truly exhibit the ingredients of raising your Joy Factor.

Passion is a way of life for them. Whether it is eating, playing, sleeping or stalking the squirrels, they do it at a 100%. When they want love, they ask for it. When they want to give love, they do – sometimes by licking my face in the middle of the night.

Authentic Expression is all that they know. They have not been taught to be anyone but themselves. They do not care what other people think. This is evident by a bit of their Self-Care. Who else can sit in the middle of a room of people and clean themselves in areas that I do not have to describe here today?

When they play, and they play hard, they have boundaries that they honor most of the time. When Abbey needs her own time, she takes it. Eli gets it and leaves her alone. They take a break and go at it again later.

My intentions today are to honor my passions at 100%, be myself and not let what others may think of me stop me from doing what I love. I will take care of my body and my spirit. I will take time for myself to re-energize, so I can jump back into the game feeling great. And most of all, I will wag more and bark less.

What do your pets teach you?