Inspiration for a joyful and creative life

Our black lab, Nikki manages to teach us a thing or two about living a happy life with her profound wisdom.

If You Want Something, Ask.
Nikki may take this a little far and can be shameless in her persistent pleas for dog treats. But the fact she “asks” for them every chance she gets by trying to lock eyes with us and move us toward the treat jar, as if we are in a hypnotic state, she gets more treats. She keeps us reminded of what she wants and doesn’t assume we’ll remember on our own.

Show Your Appreciation
When you pet our dog and she really likes it, she moans with loud, audible breathing that sounds like Darth Vader. It’s hard not to laugh and keep petting her.

If we had known this about her from the beginning, we may have named her Mona (Lisa) instead.

Enjoy Your Work
She takes her job seriously as Ranch Security around here. She takes great pride in barking at coyotes and raccoons, and chasing squirrels, but wags her tail just the same.

Learn to Relax and Take a Break
This may be one of Nikki’s finest skills. While being in charge of Ranch Security is an unrelenting 24/7 on call business, she takes her relaxation just as seriously.

She knows to be her best, she has to listen to her body. When she is sleepy, she doesn’t fight it. She gives it 100%, takes a deep breath, and surrenders to as many naps as it takes.

Wag Your Tail
If you’re happy and you know it, wag your tail. Good moods and enthusiasm are contagious. No matter what kind of day you are having, when you are greeted with such obvious delight, it’s hard not to respond in kind.

As we mature, we learn not to outwardly show our emotion. Maybe we could let just a little of the merriment out now and again. Perhaps it would be better to show your momentary glee in public by smiling, giggling or clapping. Wagging your tail may have undesired consequences.

Be an Explorer
Using all your senses, especially your intuition helps you to be alert and aware for adventure along the way.

Being ready for a crumb dropped here or a scent on the trail of excitement will make today another really good day.

P.S. I did the painting above with acrylics.

Please comment on this and share lessons you’ve learned from your pet.

Do you remember those endless summers when you werea kid?

You had time to play all day and into those light filled nights without a care in the world.

How can you bring some of that carefree feeling into your life right now?

The other day, to celebrate my friend’s birthday, we took the day off, and went on a short hike in Roxborough Park in Littleton, Colorado. It is a beautiful park with striking red rocks that looked even more dramatic against the fresh, spring green of the hills and meadows.

Before we even began our hike, we saw 5 beautiful deer grazing on the hillside.
Afterward, we had lunch at a nearby golf course overlooking the red rocks and a clear blue sky.

We wondered why we didn’t do something like this more often. We felt as if we were on vacation, and yet this gorgeous spot is only about 30 minutes away.

What if you reward yourself with more experiences that really help you relax and feel like you are on vacation?

I love the term “guilt free play” that Dr. Neil Fiore uses in his book, the Now Habit.
He advocates spending short, focused amounts of time on the next small steps in accomplishing your goals, and then rewarding yourself with enjoyable activities.

What are those experiences that give you the feeling of a carefree summer? Is it eating an ice cream cone, sticking your toes in a cold stream, going to the farmer’s market, listening to live music in a park, or laying in the grass watching the clouds go by, or reading a book in a hammock?

How about writing down one or two priorities that you want to work on, along with a couple of play time activities that remind you to have fun every step of the way?

Each year my husband, son and I choose a few things we would like to do for the summer.  We do this now, because in the past we would be disappointed that summer had come and gone and we didn’t do some of the things we wanted.

For every season there are some things that you just can’t do other times of the year so you want to take advantage of that!

Here is what we have so far:

• Take the kayak out – we have a beautiful reservoir within a 25 minute drive
• Go to at least 2 summer concerts in the park and bring a picnic
• Go to Water World with our family friends
• Pick a beautiful spot and draw or paint outdoors
• Make homemade ice cream sandwiches – I need to use the ice cream maker at least once or twice each year so my husband doesn’t tell me I never use it!
• Play tennis – all three of us are on teams this year
• Go to Grand Lake in the mountains

If you want, ask each person in your family for one or two things they would enjoy this summer.

What’s on your list?