Dog as My Doctor
"Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you." – Walt Whitman
Boy, was I in a funk last week. You know how it goes. You get snippy with your partner for looking at you sideways. You see every wrinkle and feel every ache. You start noticing everything that's wrong with the world, rather than what's lovely.
In my early years I used to run rampant with this kind of thinking. I never realized that although thoughts are hard to control, my reaction to them is something well within my power. At age 63, I now know better.
Today, once I'd decided "enough was enough," I glanced over at my four-legged health and wellness guru, Grace Fischer, and whispered, "C'mon girl, show me what to do." With a playful look, she did just that.
One hour on the hiking trail, focusing on Grace's whole-hearted spirit rather than my anxious thoughts, shifted my mood from grumpy to thoughtful to content. Delight arrived a short time later when Grace let out the oddest, longest, and goofiest half growl-seal howl imaginable. They say, laughter is the best medicine, and in this case, my belly laugh kicked my bad mood out the front door without a return trip in sight. Dog as My Doctor to the rescue...again.
Stay Healthy & Stay Pawsitive,
Carlyn MDO
Animal Fun Facts
You’ve probably seen the wrinkles that mountain gorillas have above their nostrils. But did you know that these wrinkles are as unique to gorillas as fingerprints are to human beings? I didn’t.
Plant-Based Delicious
I love it when friends come to visit. I usually make all sorts of yummy plant based dishes because I love seeing the big smiles people have when they savor them and realize there are no animal products in the creation of these meals. But when Kate and Jen came to visit they introduced me to a dish I'd never tried before. Panisse! These chickpea fries were delicious, filled with nutritious plant-based protein, and, if I am to be honest, they’re a bit addicting. Panisse is a keeper in my book!
Question I’ve been Contemplating
I recently read that the oldest philosophical question is, “Who am I?” If you’re human you’ve probably asked yourself this question once or twice. I thought I knew the answer until five years ago when I took a DNA test for fun and discovered I was adopted. I also discovered that most of my family, including my 63 first cousins knew this secret, but never told me.
What do you think when you ask yourself, “who am I?” Are you a daughter, a son or a parent? Do you identify with your physical body, your profession, something else? I’d love to know so please leave me a comment. And if you’d like to know more about my amazing DNA discovery, you can read all about it in my award-winning book, Junkyard Girl: A Memoir of Ancestry, Family Secrets, and Second Chances. If you’re an animal lover, you’ll find plenty of the animal-human bond in this unique story of lost identity, the meaning of belonging, and the power of family.
What Can You Do To Help Animals
Animal Protection Voters can really use your help!
Animal Protection Voters was formed in October 2002 in New Mexico to reduce animal suffering by passing laws that better protect animals. In order to pass local, state and federal laws, it’s necessary to build a force that our lawmakers cannot ignore. That is why APV is here.
APV is having their annual fundraiser, Laws and Paws! If you love animals, and long to see a better world for them like I do, please contribute to my fundraiser. Any amount, large or small, is appreciated! And I would be EXTREMELY grateful!
Please Donate Here! https://www.classy.org/fundraiser/5396957
What I’m Grateful For
That wrinkles come with wisdom.
Did You Miss Last Week’s Blog?
Age is Just a Number
A few days ago, I celebrated my 63rd birthday. Sixty-three years old? Me? Did someone make a mistake? How did I get here? When my father was in his nineties, he’d say that although he might look old on the outside, he still felt like a young man of twenty-three on the inside. Now I understand what he meant.
Because Mother’s Day is Just Around the Corner…
