Dog Blog

Do you know what I never really noticed?

That I am growing up.

Intellectually, of course, I know this happens to everyone.

Not long ago, I noticed lines on a structural beam in the basement where the once young humans’ growth spurts were marked. They had matured and moved on to the next stage of life. So here I am doing the doggie equivalent of measuring my growth.

The thing is, I just never really thought of myself as mature or even in the state of maturation.

Maturation.  That is such a grown-up word. I am not sure I am ready to go there just yet. Because I was terribly good at being a puppy and I didn’t want to be anything else.

And yet somehow one day seems to blend into the next.

And where do these days go; this time I can never get back? What have I been doing? I have filled every minute with naps and walks and fur-friend time and human bonding time. Unbeknownst to me, chunks of time have elapsed.

And I have grown.  Not just physically either. I have gained wisdom that was lacking in my early years.

Not all at once and certainly not evenly.  Some of life’s concepts were easier to grasp than others.  Some skills I understood immediately, and some took several repetitive cycles to comprehend and the only way I learned was through a series of mistakes.   Even now, I have mastered some and I struggle with others.  And some are entirely undeveloped.  I guess that means I am a bit lopsided, but I find the energy and time it takes to achieve mastery makes it nearly impossible to be the best at everything.

I think this is because life itself is complex, therefore mastering this thing called life is complex.

Remember that, if nothing else.

Until next time,

Jack

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Have you ever felt the need to run away from the lens of a camera, off the page and into nature?  Into a  world that is not limited by parameters of human expectation? Where the sway of the grass tickles and the symphony of insects delights?

Until next time,

Jack

Every day the sun sets, sinking lower into the sky until it disappears, leaving darkness behind.

Sometimes I wonder if the sun is exhausted from its constant shine and can’t wait to drop into the horizon and call it a day.

Until the sun rises again,

Jack

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You know how sometimes you see an image and then have an urge to play with words; to write them out and feel the sound, the pace, the pause? The rhythm and rhyme?

Today was that day for me.  I saw this photo that was taken last summer and the memories of Colorado surfaced.

Below are my efforts to recapture the moment with wordplay.

_________

‘lost in the superimposed budding leaves

on the Colorado trees,

mirrored without purpose

on the windowed and reflective surface;

tress stock still

until

a breeze eases the heat of the sun,

shadowed by the peaks of the Rocky Mountains;

wait, wonder, imagine

with adventurous abandon.’

_________

Until next time,

Jack

Alas, it was one of those messy middle-of-the road kind of days. One of those days when it was necessary to remember that life can be beautiful even though it was not perfect, and neither should perfection be the standard to which we tried to obtain.

Some days were meant to be messy. Because life and love were messy. And sometimes painful. And sometimes magical.

Sometimes you shake it off and continue down the road and on with your day.

Happy trails,
Jack

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Look.

One paw. And perfect balance.

I’ll let you in on a little philosophy of mine that keeps the flow of my days awash with zen.

I make sure the sun is behind me, the road is ahead of me and my eyes never waiver.

That way I am more likely to find the balance between everything I want to do with everything I can do.

Peace out,

Jack

One must not merely sit on a chair.

One must embrace the experience and then claim the family furniture as their own.

Carpe Diem,

Jack

I remember July.

When the sun was huge and bright, kissing the earth with golden rays.

I remember July.

When the oppressively hot air mixed with the scent of freshly mowed lawns.

I remember July.

When summer seemed endless and everything felt possible.

Shine on,

Jack

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Yellow was all around me, lighting my path.

I felt like I was immersed in sunshine and that I could see clearly into the distance.

In reality, it was the yellow brilliance of the flowers behind me that lit my world.

Wait.

What if I was lighting my own path?

What if I was responsible for some of my own successes?  Like the time only two came back with tennis balls in a game of double fetch with 4 dogs.

Wait.

And what if helping others succeed, helps me to succeed also?  There is a saying that reads, “We can not hold a torch to light another’s path without brightening our own.”

For we are all connected.  We are one.

Until next time,

Jack