3 Life Lessons You Can Learn From A Dog

If we take the time to observe, simple life lessons are right in front of us.  Here's three things we can learn from a dog:

1st Lesson: Soak in the sun
My dog could sit outside for hours on a beautiful day and just bask in the sun.  I see her close her eyes and enjoy the moment of the sounds of the outdoors.  Now, I'm an outdoorsy person so I can totally relate to this.  On every vacation where I've taken a hike, I find a few moments to stop, sit and think.  Even if you aren't into the outdoors, there's a big take away here - we need to take moments out of life, not just on vacation but every day of our life.  Whether it's our good fortune or our health, our family or our friends or all of the above - Appreciate all that you have, even the little moments in life like a sunny day.



2nd Lesson: Rest
If there's one thing my dog does is sleep.  To often we are running around in this busy game called life.  We juggle all the things we need to do - family, friends, work, home.  It's easy to run yourself until your immune system literally exhausts itself. Let's learn from our pets: Play hard and then sleep it off.  If you don't have time to sleep in or take a nap then do what ever you need to do to rejuvenate.  The more you can carve out time for yourself, the more energy you will have to accomplish all your goals in life.


3rd Lesson: Love life
Every day when I get home, my dog comes running with toy in mouth and tail wagging.  I always tell my dog, Brandy, that she's my first love. I adopted her during a time in my life when I was ready to start taking care of someone - before I met my husband and before I had my son.  But more than all the love I have for her amazing spirit, she loves me and most of all she loves life! She loves her family, she loves the hunt and she loves the simple things in life.  Be joyful, see the spirit in all things, open your hearts AND your mind - and just LOVE LIFE because it's there to love.

(Photo: My dog Brandy in the backyard)

The Special Place

Have you ever had that special place? The place where you go to get away and think? I think Adam Sandler called it the "happy place" in Happy Gilmore. For me, the first time I realized how special a place or should I say "a moment" in one particular place could be was in the middle of the Negev in Israel. After I graduated from college, I decided to spend my savings on a trip of a life time. I went on an outdoor adventure trip to Israel. I've always loved the outdoors so this trip was the adventure I was looking for including that one memorable hike in the desert. We had a long hike up a mountain side and literally we walked along the side of a mountain that was probably only two to three foot steps wide. While I love the outdoors, growing up in the suburbs of Chicago I had never really experiencing hiking like this. On this trip I realized that I was scared of heights. We got to the top of the mountain and there was a flat space where the Guide let us rest and enjoy the scenery. Since I was so scared of the height, I sat in the middle of the mountain top. Everyone else was standing on the edge and I was sitting in the middle. I sat, I breathed, and I took in the moment. I was 21 at the time and that moment, it was the most peaceful moment of my life.

Since then, every trip in the outdoors I've taken I've made it a point to store one picture in my head. I stop, breath and take in the moment and let my mind go silent. I remember a moment in the Arches Park in Utah looking over the red rock. But I try not to just leave this opportunity to vacations. I've lived in the city for nine years and I found my favorite spot. It start on my walks with my dog to Lake Michigan. We'd walk South of Waveland Golf Coarse where there's a bird nature preserve, a walking path under a canopy of trees, a view of the city and the Belmont Marina. I've often sat under those trees or watching the view of the city just to take a moment for myself.

Looking back I've always had that special place. My first place was a hidden creek in Buffalo Grove where my neighbors and I would ride my bike to and create a fantasy land. Back then it was a nature wonderland of running water and pebbles that I thought were the biggest rocks. What was probably "just a creek" was a "hidden find" to me. A special place doesn't have to be somewhere fancy, expensive or even impressive. A special place just has to be "special" to you. Like the picture I took in my mind at my wedding, it was just me, my husband, and the photographer outside taking picktures in the Fall leaves.

Have you found that special place that creates peace for you? If not, I challenge you to find those moments and lock them in your memory. You can pull up those memories anytime you need that moment of peace.