Harry, sit!

"letting trouble pass you by"

I used to face everything head on. I rushed towards conflict thinking I was going to get to the heart of the matter and untangle the chaos before me. I was bullish, tenacious, and critical. I demanded that my space be settled or I would avoid it like the plague. It lead me feeling the need to flee, retreating from my familiar because the uneasy feeling of upset made me cringe. This morning Harry and I went for a long walk. We parked in front of the Hamilton House and made our way by the river’s edge into Vaughn Woods. Harry doesn’t have the best track record with other dogs, he’s more at peace with familiar humans he loves. The air was cool and the skies gray, foretelling snow on the way. I scanned for other dogs and chartered our course around them.

We spent nearly an hour winding through the paths by the river, up and over the hills, through the lofty pines, making a ginormous circle over the hillside. It wasn’t until we almost reached the beginning that I spied some dogs we couldn’t make our way around. I looked down at Harry as I pulled the leash in closer and then kneeled and told him to sit. I stayed close to him, petting his head and telling him he was okay while I hoped the dogs veered off in another direction. I stole a glance and realized they wanted to come our way. I scanned the hill off the trail and decided we could traverse it easily enough. I stood and told Harry to come and we made our way down the embankment. The dogs passed high above us and Harry was already onto the trail ahead of us finding new things to smell and interest him.

I’m learning the power found in pausing. I’m learning that sometimes the best reaction is no action at all. I’m learning to consider all things outside myself to affect the best path forward for myself. I’m learning that I still have a far way to go and staying on track, keeping at keeping, is what is going to get me there in the most direct way.