The Big Three: We made it

The world can be a crazy place. Sometimes it helps to step back and list a few of the things you’re grateful for. I’m making it a habit each week to list three blessings. Here’s what I’m grateful for this week, August 3-9.

What I’m grateful for:

—We made it. Getting a text or call that a loved one has made it safely to a far away destination.

—A well-earned rest. A cozy bed, fluffy pillow, and cool sheets. Excuse my yawn. I’m getting sleepy just thinking about my rest!

—Simple thoughts that move us. Henry David Thoreau’s classic Walden, or, A Life in the Woods was published 171 years ago today. Like many people, I had to read Walden when I was in high school. I’m afraid much of the wisdom was lost on me then, but I’ve come to appreciate his simple, folksy humor. I may not understand everything he states, but I certainly have a deeper respect for it. Here’s some of what I mean:

• “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
• “Things do not change; we change.”
• “However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is. You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours, even in a poorhouse. The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the almshouse as brightly as from the rich man’s abode; the snow melts before its door as early in the spring. I do not see but a quiet mind may live as contentedly there, and have as cheering thoughts, as in a palace.”

• “Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.”
• “I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

What gave me a smile?

—It’s a doggy world. I’m excited for my blogging friend Lauren Scott. She published her new poetry collection, King Copper, Our dog’s life in poetry, this week. The collection details how Copper, a lovable chocolate lab mix, came into her family’s life and never let go. “From the hugs, cuddles, and games of fetch, Copper learned to trust us. And so, he became family. For thirteen years, he gave us unconditional love. He crossed over the rainbow bridge this past March.“

We lost Nittany, our 15-year-old Lhasa Apsa – Bichon Frise this past winter, so I can relate to the feeling of love and loss. I understand when Lauren writes in her intro: “It is serendipitous to know that he came into our lives in March and left our earthly world also in March – the month of new beginnings. He was a bright light in our lives that will shine eternally. This is the power of our dogs or any pet. They leave a positive, long-lasting imprint on our souls.“

I can’t wait to read the collection. You can find it on kindle and paperback on Amazon. Check it out!

The timing of Lauren’s book made me laugh.

We have a new grand puppy in our lives. Our son is the proud pet owner of an 11-week-old English Bulldog. Hello world, meet Panzer. Panzer meet the world. My wife and I aren’t ready to be dog owners again. This little guy and his crazy puppy ways, though, has started to get us thinking about it. Who knows? In the meantime, we’re enjoying seeing the world for the first time through Panzer’s eyes.

And what a wonderful world it is.