Receiving Gracefully…Giving Fully

In my time on earth, I taught mama many important lessons.  I was on a mission, you see — an earthbound angel assignment, you might say.

Giving from the heart is an attribute that mama has held since she was a little person and she didn’t need guidance from me on that point.  I was just the happy recipient of her bountiful love and gifts, but she was lacking in how to receive graciously.  Sure, she was able to receive my sloppy kisses and my abundant joy, but in the more traditional sense, mama has not been good at receiving.

Baby Timmy Elijah and Wilbur receiving mama's love

I know I’ve talked about this in previous posts and I think it’s a topic that needs to be revisited.  Mama has been forced to face this deficiency in herself this year, and this was my final gift and lesson to her.

When I was ill this summer and had emergency surgery, FOA’s started sending cards and checks to help with my medical bills.  Our friends at SacPaws even reached out to find specialists and experts for my care.  I felt fine receiving support and love in it’s various forms, but mama was reluctant and unsure how to act.

I was able to coach her along and remind her how good it feels to give freely and that she cannot deny others that same glorious feeling.  The universe has properties that are set in stone, and one of those properties is to continue putting situations before us until we finally learn the lesson.

And since mama had not been fully educated on the art of receiving, the universe (and her furry angel) continued to throw circumstances and people her way to challenge her growth.  After my transition, the support coming mama’s way was a tidal wave of love that could not be ignored and, I’m happy to say, she’s starting to get it.  Did she have a choice?

Lisa sharing her laughter & love

Our dear FOA and close confidant of mama, Lisa Maslack, has taken giving to a whole new level through my issues.  Lisa has been a great friend — one of those people who always listens with her heart and laughs with a snort.  These past weeks, she has demonstrated her support and love for us with big, swooping gestures.

Lisa started a donation site to help with my medical bills.  As you know, mama insisted the doctors go to every length to try to keep me here on earth, and the expenses grew quickly.  When all was said and done, mama had incurred almost $13,000 in vet debt and Lisa, being a friend of action, was compelled to do something.

And, had it not been for Lisa’s generosity, Little Timmy would never have come into mama’s life.  Mama is filled with gratitude and finally able to accept being on the receiving end of goodwill.

Mama can see the immense joy that Lisa experiences in giving of herself, her time and her resources.  How can mama possibly deny her friend all of this joy?

And, with gratitude, I say that this is the lesson, friends… Receive as fully and open-heartedly as you give.

Timmy happily receiving kitten love

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Family, Not Frenzy, For Thanksgiving

It’s Thanksgiving again!  You know, the day when humans in our country celebrate gratitude and food (unlike dogs who celebrate our thanks & edibles daily!).  I woke up this morning with a gracious heart, scheming how I can exude my gratitude and goodwill to others.

Grateful for my brother Wilbur & fresh roses. Wilbur's thankful for his new hoodie (gift from neighbor)

Mama’s in the giving spirit too and she also woke up thinking about all she is grateful for in her life.  With a hot mug of theraflu, mama penned a note of love and thanks to her bestie and put it in the mailbox.  Yes, Real mail!  Which makes me conscious of my gratitude for the mailman.  I can tell you that he is probably not thankful for me though, as I greet him with piercing barks every time he shows up.  I know it’s stereotypical, but I can’t help myself.

Every morning as I snuggle mama, I feel thankful for my family.  Grateful for the love and warmth and financial support through my health issues.  I am eternally grateful for my friends, both human & canine, who give of themselves so openly and add another dimension of love to my life.

I am grateful for all that I have materially and I am never in despair about what I don’t have.  I have a warm house, some really cool clothes, loads of “babies” and toys, plenty of good food and I even have my own section in mama’s Outback.  What more could I want?

Apparently, humans aren’t always happy with what they already have and need to acquire more.  I really have a hard time grasping the race to Black Friday frenzy after just celebrating gratitude with family.  It makes no sense to me.

After the Thanksgiving meal, I want to lounge on the couch with a full belly, surrounded by my loved ones playing games or watching a movie.  Nowhere in my desired Thanksgiving schedule involves standing in line in the dead of night for a deal on a new television or gizmo made in China.  Where is the joy and feeling of gratitude in fighting crowds for that discounted Snuggie?

I’m not a huge consumer and I really don’t like shopping (except at PetSmart), but if you are someone who enjoys the post-holiday splurge, I urge you to join Small Business Saturday, instead of Black Friday.

Bella's grateful for the heating vent

Why shop the big box corporate entities when you can support a small, locally-owned business?  It’s estimated that 68 cents of every dollar spent locally stays in the community.  Now that figure almost makes me want to shop!

I cannot end this post without thanking you, my loyal readers and FOA’s.  I value each and every one of you and blogging wouldn’t be the same without your thoughtful comments and engagement.  Wishing you peace, joy and love this Thanksgiving and always.

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Random Acts of Generosity

It’s funny… I’m a pup who regularly reflects upon what I am grateful for in my life, but I have a hard time accepting generosity from others.  Don’t get me wrong — of course I’m appreciative and grateful, but for some reason I’m uncomfortable with others randomly gifting me.

Clearly, I need to shift my thinking.  I love to give to others; giving my resources, time, consult, licks and gifts.  This comes naturally to me and I assume others will take my offerings with grace and appreciation.  And, it feels good to me to give freely of myself.

So why is it shocking and uncomfortable to me when I receive random acts of giving?  Clearly, this is writing prompt (in true Judy Stone-Goldman, Reflective Writer, form).

Over the past weeks, I have been surprised by numerous gifts via snail-mail.  As I mentioned to you a couple of weeks ago, after my surgery some FOA’s spontaneously and generously sent checks to aid with my medical bills.  I was floored by the giving nature of my friends and special bark-outs need to go out to Trish, Grandma, Bill and Karin, among others.

This week mama & I received two boxes from Amazon, and we hadn’t ordered anything.   Again, FOA’s (and FOM’s) understood our deepest desires and acted with their giving spirits.

unexpected gifts from friends thru Amazon -- I'm filled with gratitude!

One day this week, we received the DVD of the show Sons of Anarchy, season 3.  You see, mama & I started watching this program through our Netflix streaming service (which we since cut), had seen the first two seasons.  We had been on a long waiting list to receive the discs for season 3 (again, since we cancelled our service last week, our queue is now moot).

Weeks and weeks ago mama and her old high school chum, Jeff, had been discussing this series as Jeff is a diehard fan too.  He insisted we Must see season 3 as soon as possible — well, we already knew that!  When we last saw the show baby Abel had been kidnapped and Gemma was on the run — we have been on pins and needles for months!

And then the 4 disc series magically appeared in our mailbox with a gift note from Jeff.   Blimey — we didn’t expect a gift of this series!  Sure, we had passionately discussed our (mama’s!) love for Jax with Jeff, but never expected Jax and his gang to show up on our doorstep via Amazon!

Then today our mail carrier (whom I love to bark at — it’s stereotypical but I am a dog!) left another Amazon box on our doorstep.  This time it held the book “The Ultra Mind Solution”, a nutrition book that mama’s bestie, Brigid, has been evangelizing for months.    We saw Brig just two weeks ago and didn’t even discuss the book, yet there it was on the porch.

Receiving support and love through Amazon is seriously underrated!  And, I must admit, that I’m a bit mystified about how to react to such caring and love from mama’s decades-old friends.

For me (& mama), it’s easier and more comfortable to give than to receive — why is that?  I seriously need to work on this…

I suppose a surprise gift — you know, that unexpected “something” — is even more appreciated by those on the receiving end than a gift for a birthday or holiday — the “expected” gift.  Let’s all commit to practicing random acts of giving and immense gratitude when we are receiving these heart-felt, unanticipated acts of generosity.

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Dogs for Democracy

Now is the time for dogs to be center stage of the political process — we need canine consciousness now more than ever.  Dogs for Democracy is in the works, and I hope you will join our pack (not PAC!).

I’ve jotted down my list of values — truths that I hold close to my heart — and these values will be the template for Dogs for Democracy’s mission.

Dogs value:

generosity over greed

I'm looking for common sense in the halls of congress... not finding it yet...

people over profits

humanity over hoarding

mankind over manipulation

cooperation over cronyism

help over hedonism

service over selfishness

partnership over pettiness

benevolence over bullying

knowledge over nonsense

truth over treason

action over acquisition

democracy over demagoguery

empathy over egotism

working together over whining

establishing a dog presence in our political system is exhausting!

integrity over intransigence

stateliness over stubbornness

peace over prejudice

love over lunacy

calm over calamity

dedication over destruction

joy over jealousy

dogs over dogma

perseverance over pride

ingenuity over idiocy

understanding over usurping

compassion over contempt

hard work over heresy

friendship over financial gain

positivity over power

gratitude over griping

Needless to say, with this list of values, all of my canine chums are Democrats, but I think we need our own separate space in the political process.

I am in the early stages of organizing my political pack and I welcome all suggestions.

Who’s willing to join me in establishing a forum for dispensing some doggone common sense?

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Rambling in Gratitude

For a dog, I have my paws in a lot of pies.  My interests are diverse and vast, hence you have seen fewer posts from me these past weeks as I’ve been busy with new ventures.  Don’t worry loyal readers, I’m getting myself more organized and will resume with my usual 3-4 blogs per week post haste.

One of my new projects is helping the Spiritual Center for Positive Living with their foray into social media.  (I know… the center should seriously reconsider being called the Spiritual Center for Pawsitive Living…. but one task at a time..)  I’m having loads of fun helping the energetic, and extremely dog-like, Rev. Pattie get her message to the world.  Her ebullient nature is contagious and I find my tail wagging even more wildly with enthusiasm of late.

On the SCPL facebook fan page (please go “like” the page if you haven’t already) we are ending each week with Gratitude Friday.  We pose the question “what are you grateful for today?” and  the answers never fail to make me smile.  For our fans we are offering a chance to win a prize just by commenting.  A winner is randomly selected from the commenters at the end of each week.  I like knowing that I have a paw in the process of getting folks to ponder the good in their lives, if only for a few minutes.

grateful for my babies!

I’m a contemplative canine who often thinks about the wonders and treasures I am grateful for in my life.  I’m not terribly materialistic, but I do greatly appreciate (and covet!) my babies… my word for stuffed toys.  These soft, spit-soaked babies give me great joy!  I play with them, chase them, use them as pillows and always carry one as my “security blanket”.  I get a lot of funny stares from passersby as they double-take to get a look at what’s in my mouth.

At times, I have become overly excited and accidently “killed” a baby (I know, that is so not my loving self!) so I’ve had many of these special items throughout my life.  But the things that are truly meaningful to me can’t be replaced with a quick trip to Petco.

I’m passionately grateful for my family, which is a given but I just had to say it again.  I couldn’t imagine having a better mum!  And my brother, sister, grandma and many cousins are very close to my heart.

It’s impossible to express my great appreciation for all the good food I’m served.  I’m so grateful to mama for taking the time to prepare our meals instead of serving us that dreadful (and potential deadly) kibble.

Wilbur is grateful for squirrels --- real or...

My dogpark comrades give me tremendous joy, and for them I am grateful.  I’m grateful for a roof over my head — keeping me warm in the winter and cool in the summer.  I’m grateful that today it’s only 95 degrees (instead of the 105 earlier this week).  I’m grateful for my stylish summer-cut which is less cumbersome during the summer months.

I’m grateful for my senses (especially my sense of smell!), for wet grass to roll in, for squirrels to observe, for books to read, for watching my world championship Giants.

I am rambling in gratitude — but it sure does feel good!  Take a moment or two to ponder those people and things you hold dearest to your soul.   Are you smiling yet?

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” — Thornton Wilder

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