Peace comes to mind first, but the path to get there has to be paved with mercy and justice. Peace is not something that gets granted, I think, like a wish or a Christmas present, but which only comes after a lot of hard work. We have to work together in mercy and justice to achieve peace, as well as the ideal world Kevin describes.

The hard part of this is that it requires work, but the blessing is that it makes Peace something we can work towards together. It is not out of our hands but within them.

At this moment, I am having to let go of my beloved and very elderly Springer Spaniel who has let us know it is time. In the midst of everything else that is going on in our lives, we have been doing doggie hospice, which is exhausting. I know that losing her will free up that energy and make daily life, as well as an upcoming move, less stressful, but doing what we could for as long as she chose to stay was our gift to her, a small return for all the love, joy, and laughter she has brought to us over the past 15 1/2 years. We are grateful to have had her for all these years. Love never dies, but sometimes letting go just hurts.

Kindness. Compassion. Understanding. And not to be pushed beyond what it is supposed to be able to do. As I spent many years with pain and no solutions, I got used to pushing myself through the pain no matter what. Now I am having to learn a new way, one that has me respect my natural limitations and quit before I am in pain. This is quite a challenge for me! I am, however, realizing that I really did not do myself any favors with the pushing and stressing and insisting. Kindness to self is a far better way, even if that means I make some new choices about what is most important to me.

If you need any help in this process or have questions, feel free to ask me. I would love to help you be matched with a dog that would be perfect for you. I can help point you in the right direction breed wise, too, as there are matches in that realm as well. Good rescues have requirements because they don’t want the animal back. They want to match good people with the perfect dog for them and then have a Happy Ending. And their adoption fees may seem steep sometimes, but believe me, they don’t generally cover all that went into the animal’s rescue. They will come with their shots, spayed or neutered, vetted out, and that alone generally adds up to the amount asked. The whole goal is to match person and dog so that you are a Furever Home. 😀

Hope this was not out of place here. I am rather passionate about finding good homes for my furry friends! 😀 We have four dogs and one cat, all rescues in one way or another, and a flock of chickens.

Small Public Service Announcement from someone who has lived with rescued animals since I was about two… 😀 If you are serious about wanting an animal, go with a reputable rescue. Then you can be matched to the animal before you commit and know a bit about what they are like. Rescue foster families also tend to teach them some basic manners and such, which makes transition easier. There are all sorts of ages, too, and often people do not want the older animals who are the easiest to transition since they are through the chewing and housetraining, etc. Some animals need homes because their people got too ill to care for them, and you can bless more than the dog’s heart and your own by adopting one of those.

I am working on getting out of my head, too, and being in the moment with my animals does help!