What’s for Breakfast?

When I’ve had the right kind of breakfast for me, the barking puppy wafts over me like nature’s symphony.  The trainer said ignore it, and I can, in fact, ignore it, listen, even appreciate that my puppy is communicating something her way.  

If I don’t do breakfast, her barking sounds like a bomb alert in my stomach.  An urgent call to action I can’t comprehend but will perish if I don’t make it stop.  She’s good.  I’m good.  

It’s best for both of us if her way of being does not push me into lizard fight/flight/freeze brain.  If I can calmly run the checklist: “Is she safe? Does she need potty time? Is she just letting us know she knows the neighbors have shut their car door? What’s happening? Do I need to actually do anything? What would it feel like if it were okay for my dog to bark and me to not respond and go about my business?”

There are so many barking dogs in this world. People and situations that seem to call for immediate reaction and response.  But if I leave them, just for a minute, focus on making sure my own cup is full — that I’m getting enough rest, alone time, social time, taking care of my physical and emotional aches and pains — if I do all that like it’s my job, then I have a shot at responding appropriately to all the barking dogs this world presents.  

And not responding is so frequently the right choice. Things settle on their own without my intervention a lot of the time.  But I only get to see that, to learn that, to trust that, if I give it a whirl.  I’m gonna keep going.

www.livingeveryminuteofit.com

www.combatcovidstress.com

Ps. I am needing some kind of low key virtual women’s circle — if you have one I can join  or if you wanna start one together please let me know.