Note to Self: "Lessons from Sadie"

Sadie and I have been walking the reservoir lately.  It is a 2.7 mile circular paved path around a partially wooded body of water. The path is both windy and hilly with about 7-10 small hills.

As I walk it, I have been mentally preparing myself for the new school year. My thoughts are so varied and fleeting, they tend to lead to anxiety rather than the cohesion of purpose or the creation of a new vision.

Then, I started watching Sadie trot along head of me, her leash stretched out to the limit. Her legs are dachshund short . She is both portly and mature, but she walks that reservoir with purpose and joy in her little doggy heart.

Sadie is a sprinter; she charges along, tale wagging, panting, breathlessly invigorated by the possibilities that exist around the corner. She is exuberant.

But Sadie doesn't travel at one speed. She slows down in the shade in order to cool down, and then puts on her blinders and speeds through the extremely sunny spots.

She doesn’t stop while going up a hill; she finishes the hill once begun, but if tired, she does often stop and sit at the bottom of a hill. When the upcoming hill is too much for her, she looks up at me, and expects to be carried. I have tried to decide whether she is full of faith, hope or love sitting there, knowing that I will carry her. I don’t know, but I do know that being tired does not lead to anxious moments for her. She accepts her limitations without trepidation.

Anyway, why is this a Note to Self?

I plan to approach this year like Sadie accomplishes the reservoir walk.

Instead of charging non-stop through the year, exhausting myself, becoming full of self-retribution and bitterness, I shall remember Sadie’s example. I will charge up my hills, but like Sadie, I shall try to become aware of the shady spots, and recharge, renew in them. If the hill is too great; I plan to stop before I can’t take another step, and wait. Help will come, if not from the outside, then from within.

Cohesion of purpose, the rebirth of an ideal; both will materialize. It may take following the lessons I have learned from Sadie.

Somebody out there, please remind me of this blog in the months… weeks….or days which follow. thanks