I’ve written before about the four-legged lunatic that has free reign of our house. He continues to provide daily doses of both hilarity and wisdom. Our morning walks have resulted in him being known in the neighborhood as “that dog” (as in when a young guy we’d encountered a couple of times previously saw us coming, beamed, and shouted “I love that dog!”): the one you know is bound to entertain with his antics. I often reflect on how he’s teaching me to loosen up, to not take things so seriously, to be more passionate about life. On our walk this morning, it hit me that I haven’t just learned from him; I actually want to be him.
I want to start each day with a completely blank slate and boundless enthusiasm.
I want to have bat-like hearing and a touch of extra-sensory-perception.
I want my meals prepared and delivered with a side of loving praise.
I want to be more accepting of my occasional bad behavior.
I want multiple cozy places dedicated to my napping pleasure and multiple people to snuggle.
I want to have an unerring radar for when a friend needs me.
I want to love my body in all its imperfection and proudly strut it.
I want to be convinced that everyone thinks I’m adorable, is happy to see me, and wants to play with me.
I want people to buy me clothes occasionally and cheer as I model them.
I want to ask forgiveness instead of permission.
I want someone else to run my Instagram account.
I want to pursue my interests with focused determination.
I want occasional applause not for my accomplishments but just for my existence.
I want to never entertain a negative thought.
I want to have a cozy little cave, inaccessible to others, to escape to in times of trouble.
I want to fearlessly speak up; to have no qualms about clearly asking for whatever I need.
I want to stoically, even happily, endure my allotment of physical pain.
I want to be secure in the knowledge that the ones who love me will always be back.
I want to forgive instantly.
I want to be scared shitless and do it anyway.
I want to be lovably incorrigible.
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Let’s talk! Do you have a beloved, if exasperating, pet? What have you learned from them? Which of their characteristics do you want to emulate?