So, life has been... well I don't think that there is a word in the English language to describe it. Just, um, lots of changes and very difficult adjustments (some of which I'm fighting with all my might). And tonight, life taught me a little lesson that I'd like to share with you.. yes.. "you". Don't look around your shoulder, I'm talking to YOU.
Anyways, my family was on family vacation for about four days last week. The veterinarian in town told us that her son .. er ... nephew .. or someone was really good with dogs. So we had them watch the dogs for us. We have two dogs, a yellow lab (Louie: huge dog, not the brightest bulb, happy-go-lucky, baby) and a black lab/chow mix (Molly: way way way too smart for her own good, conniving, strong willed, protector). They are perfect together. They are well trained, well behaved dogs who would never hurt anyone. Well we got a call during vacation from the boys watching them, saying that they escaped from the kennel and the black one was growling. The thing about them is, they HATE when we leave. They cry and cry and pout when they see the suitcases.. Well we just figured that they had just shaken the door open (which they had done before).. but when we arrived home we noticed that they had broken the chain link fence.. in three places. How? I have no clue. Well my brother and I patched it up, but when I got home from work tonight, exhausted and smelly, they were waiting for me outside. I was mad. I was going to yell. They know.. they KNOW that they aren't supposed to break the kennel. I was going to yell at them and send them to bed. But when I got out of my car, they slowly walked up to me and had their tails between their legs. I didn't say a word, just walked to the house. I opened the front door and walked in. I turned around, expecting them to shove past me like they always do, but they just stood there, knowing they probably didn't deserve to come in the house. "come on." I quietly motioned them to come inside, and their eyes LIT up. Louie wouldn't leave my side. Thirty minutes later, he still couldn't sleep because his tail was wagging so hard. How could I be mad at them? It was hot, and the fence was already broken. Can I blame them for crawling out of the kennel to find shade? They didn't hurt anyone, they didn't run away, they just left the kennel. How many times to we freak out about small stuff? Small stuff that goes wrong, or what other people do to us, or what we do to ourselves? Let it go. Not only did I not have to carry the burden of anger, but I got to enjoy watching someone I love very much be so happy.
Another lesson along the same lines was learned today. One of my good friends had a facebook status mentioning how people have the same reaction between a death and a birth. I was utterly confused, but I know that there must be a meaning behind this status. I asked her to explain, and she told me that she's been watching the reactions of people to the death of Amy Winehouse. Then she compared that with the reaction of when someone has a baby. The said reaction - in her words: "Oh, (insert name) died/had a baby?! Oh....weird." "Didn't see that coming" "No way! When did that happen?"
How true is that? How OPPOSITE are life and death? Why do we just shrug a shoulder? How emotionless can we be?
I guess I just had a few lessons on emotions. I learned to shrug off the little stuff and enjoy life, and I learned to treasure life, because it's short, fragile, and beautiful. So look at your life, if you will. Yes, YOU, if you're still reading this. Are you wasting all your emotions on the dumb little stuff, and having nothing left to enjoy life? Well, if you are, I challenge you to make a few small changes, even if it starts with not yelling at your dog. (:
Last week at youth group, we were discussing why the wise are slow to angry & it's to your benefit not to be hot-headed. It's not a wise idea to get angry about something silly like this or the fact that someone didn't do exactly what you wanted. They aren't you & won't always do what you want; we're all human, we'll make mistakes too. If you get angry & do something stupid, more likely than not when you look back on it you'll be like, "Why did I freak out over something little?! Then & went & did/said something stupid to make it worse. I would've been better off not saying anything." That's where the whole wisdom thing comes in. If you're wise, you'll put up with whatever it is that made you angry & not say/do anything irrational/stupid. Then it turns out to be a better scenario later. Most of the things we get angry over anyway are super little! Half the time I am over whatever it was that made me upset an hour later. So if that's the case, then why make a big deal of it & look like an idiot, when you're gonna be over it soon anyway? & If someone else is making a big deal of something & will be over it soon, then don't get angry with them. Let them have their tantrum & give them some time to calm down. You're better off doing that than starting a fight over something stupid.
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