I could learn a few things from my friend Honor. Like many of us she has her idiosyncrasies and foibles, even some neuroses here and there. But for the most part she is happy, easygoing, and doesn’t let anything get her down for very long. She forgives easily and doesn’t appear to hold grudges. She doesn’t seem to worry about the future or hold onto regrets from the past. She knows how to play and takes joy in the simplest of pleasures. She puts up with my moods and crankiness and while she does know how to stay out of my way when I exhibit cranky behaviors, she’s always ready to hang out when I invite her to. I am grateful for her presence in my life, and I’m embarrassed to admit that I don’t tell her that very often. I plan to improve on that, starting today.
For those of you who don’t know me well or have just started reading this blog, Honor is my canine companion. Four years ago we brought her home from an animal rescue center. She came to us two months after our much-loved dog, Shiloh died. And while you can’t replace a good friend, you can invite a new friend into your life.
Along with my children, Honor has borne silent witness to the various transitions that have happened in my life over the past seven months in particular. When we moved back in May, she too had to move away from her home and a fellow canine friend. She’s had to adjust to new surroundings that are fairly different from her previous ones. Life is different for her too, but she rolls with whatever is happening in the moment. At times I have felt guilty about her quality of life–perhaps I don’t play with her enough, sometimes I fuss at her too much, etc. But I realize that all things considered she probably has a pretty good life, and from what I can tell she doesn’t complain or lay blame or express discontent in any way. In fact, as I am writing this (way earlier than usual), she is laying in the sun that shines brilliantly my room in the mornings. She finds it and lies down, getting up and moving as it slowly makes it’s way across the front of the house shining in different parts of the room. Life is simple and it is good.
Honor Enjoying the Sun
Honor has things she’s afraid of–she hates going out in the rain to do her business: there’s something scary out there that might get her. We’ve speculated that bad things happened to her before she found her way to the animal shelter. We can only speculate about them, but being outside in the rain somehow factors in there somewhere. She nevertheless manages her fears (sometimes through prodding, cajoling or threatening on my part) and takes care of her business outside. It will no doubt make for a long winter here in the new place (it rains quite a bit in in winter). I had just gotten her “trained” to go out in the rain at the old house and then we moved. But other than that little hiccup she’s settled in and content. Again, a lesson I could learn from her about learning to be content no matter where I am or what’s happening in my life. Note taken. Sigh.
I am grateful to Honor for her presence. With Jared at work a lot, she is my primary company. She is yet another of the many teachers I am encountering as I walk the path. She is an obvious example of how unconditional love might look, and as I outlined at the start of this blog, she has a number of other attributes that I would like to begin embodying. I am grateful for her example to me. When I pray or when I am doing lovingkindness and compassion practice, I often include her specifically (not just during the “all beings” portion of meditation). May she continue to know happiness and the root of happiness. So be it!
© M. T. Chamblee, 2011
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