Greetings~

Let us greet this new year with the kind of joyful enthusiasm that a dog has for his human companion's arrival back home.  Let nothing stand in our way of believing that we are blessed to be alive on this incredible planet, having an authentic human experience.  Let us trust that somehow, there is a place beyond the drama and the suffering of daily life, where all is truly well and unfolding exactly as it should be.  A dear friend of mine recently pointed out to me, how much we humans could learn from the way our dogs greet us, the way they love us, the way they delight in celebrating each moment, the way they give themselves freely to the world.

And I must tell you that I have thought about this for sometime. I began to take note of my canine friend's constant joy to see me after we had been apart for a day, or a sleep, or an hour even, or 3 minutes while I went outside to gather the post.  And I decided, as I have done on many occasion, that my friend is a very wise and beautiful person, for there is great wisdom to be found in a greeting made up total loving acceptance.  There is a reason the word dog, is God spelled backwards.  

The loving greeting of a dog needs no interpretation, it cannot be confused with anything other than genuine heart, and genuine heart, it is a precious and beautiful thing.  And if you watch a dog run through an open field, he will greet the new day with a similar kind of loving, a similar open affection for the wind in his hair and the soft earth beneath his feet.  And he will greet the liver treat and the morning in the same way, with sheer unaltered delight, and he will glow with happiness to see his master upon waking, with the same honest expression of gratitude and love, day after day, year after year.

Yes, indeed, tis something to marvel at, this canine wisdom.  Something to apply to our living in all the various departments.  I,  for one, have decided to greet the new year, like Gus greets me everyday, with total love, gratitude, and acceptance for all that is.

To 2009 then!~  Welcome New Year, Welcome~