Barking up the right tree

For the past month and a half I have been in the decision making process of getting a puppy, and this last week, I sealed the deal and picked up my precious little puppy.  I have wanted a puppy for as long as I can remember, and many times in the past I had been very close to getting one, but my intuition always kicked in and told me that I was not ready for such a life altering commitment. Throughout the process of deciding if this was a good choice for me to make or not, many issues surfaced that that really surprised me. For instance the main fear that I was having about getting a puppy was that with this choice I would lose all my flexibility and freedom.  Another issue that came to the surface was that of commitment.

The issue of making the commitment struck me hard. The belief that was operating beneath the surface was that since I had failed in staying in a committed relationship with a person, I began to believe that I could not commit to a dog.  After some good coaching and thinking on the subject of commitment, I came to realize that I was scaring myself out of opportunity and unconditional love.  I was displacing my failed relationship, which failed many many years ago, onto my current self and current life, and thankfully I have grown enormously since then, and those fears no longer serve me. Instead of fearing the commitment, I embraced it and choose to look at getting Lulu, my puppy, as a stepping-stone to learning what it means to be committed to something that will be there for me no matter what. The positives strongly out weighed the negatives in concerning this issue.  Realizing that getting a dog would undoubtedly change my life, I decided that I was ready to welcome the challenges with an open heart and sense of maturity that had been lacking from my life.

I have had Lulu, for not even a week, and the amount of love and joy I get from her is immeasurable. I am recognizing many hidden talents and strengths, like the ability to be deep in a conversation, and from the corner of my eye see that Lulu is eating my sandals, and that I actually don’t’ need as much sleep as I thought I did.  Thus far I am delighted with my decision, and I cannot see that shifting.

I am pretty sure that having Lulu, in my life will also fuel many a blog posts, so stay tuned.

 

The questions I have for you are these:

What are you denying yourself out of fear?

What are the costs of you’re denying?

When you listen to your intuition, are you really denying yourself?

How do you know when you are ready for a life altering decision?

Alright, I am headed out for the evening, which means Lulu will be in her crate…neither one of us are big fans of this..wish us luck!

 

I can’t wait to hear from you all,

Talia