Last week, Max turned eighteen months. When he joined our family on September 4th 2017, he was ten weeks young. A lot has happened since. Max reached his adult size (medium) and weight (about 25 lbs). During the first forty-two days with him, I recorded our encounters and experiences and recommendations from dogs’ “how to” books, which became my secondbook in my 42 Encounters series – 42 Encounters with Dog Lovers. If you have been following the Friday “Encounters” for a while, you have surely read about this book before.
1. Life is a Game; there is no winning or losing, just playing. You can apply this lesson to anything in your life. To do this, stop taking yourself too seriously. If you look back, everything has a beginning and an end, and then it starts all over again, like in any game.
2. Life is Short; enjoy every moment. Many religious traditions teach how to detach ourselves from our egos. It is not easy; however, if we learn how not to attach ourselves to the results, perhaps we can develop a habit of enjoying the process.
3. Life is Sharing Love; it’s O.K. to lick people’s faces. Life is universal. If you want to be loved, share yours. It’s easy – just connect with your heart, and do not hold back.
4. Life is a Journey; you never know in which park you will end up in tomorrow. Most of us are creatures of habits. That means that after we discover one way of doing things or living our lives, we rarely make an effort to change. Thus, we do not know what wonderful things we are missing.
5. Life is Making New Friends; they are everywhere. If you want more friends, start by learning how to become your dog’s best friend.
6. Life is a Cycle; after walking and eating comes playing and napping. Dogs like to have a routine. As humans, we focus on working and eating. To live our life to the fullest, we need to practice the last two as well.
7. Life is Learning; there are always new tricks to practice. When we stop learning, our lives become dull.
P.S. Judging by the response to my weekly Encounters and the reviews of my books on Amazon.com, I am doing a good job writing my stories.
The purchase of 42 Encounters with Dog Lovers will help dogs, and hopefully you as well. These four images show how Max has a ball with his ball.
Enjoy and Share.
