For 13 years, my husband and I shared our lives with a sweet little puppy named Maxwell. Max was a little miniature schnauzer, and a big part of our family. Two years ago we lost him, and the puppy-shaped void in our lives still seems so empty.
Recently we’ve been gently tossing around the idea of getting another pup. Puppies are a commitment of many years so we’re considering a number of things, including what kind of puppy we’d like to share our lives with this time around. 
I’m partial to little dogs. I loved the size of our Max – mini, and actually, I’d like to go even smaller than a mini-schnauzer. But, we’re considering a move in a couple of years to an area that’s more country and less suburbia. An area where the wild things are, native animals on foot and aloft. An area where a cute little pup could look like prey. An area where, among other things, hawks roam the skies looking for their next meal.
In pondering all of this, here are the things I know:
Hawks will behave like, well, hawks
If we choose to live where hawks hunt, I cannot expect hawks to behave any differently than their instinctive behavior dictates. I need to account for this in my equation of decision making, and consider adopting a sizable pup who isn’t easy prey.
The situation is neutral
This fact is neutral – hawks and other predators are much more prevalent where we’re considering moving. The fact is neither good nor bad, it’s what is. I make my own choice about how I react, or if I make up a “big bad hawk” or some other story around the facts. I decide how I shade the facts – positive or negative, or do I choose to keep them neutral.
In the end, only so much is in our control. Things happen.
As in all aspects of life, I can’t control everything. I can make the best decisions I’m capable of in that moment, yet things I don’t want to happen may still happen. In my humanness, I can error in judgment. There may be things I don’t consider, or are simply unavoidable. This is life.
Creating something wonderful
We’re considering living in a beautiful place, yet very different from where we live now. I love pups, small and big. My mindset is I can create something wonderful with a big, beautiful pup whose quite different from my little Maxwell. Something I may have never been able to imagine before. As I open myself up to possibilities, and explore, I can create a new kind of wonderful.
Inquiries to ponder…
What I’m curiously pondering now is where are the “hawks” in my life. Where do I have an expectation that something or someone will behave differently from what they are? Where am I overlaying a “hawks are bad” story? And, where do I go to self-blame when things happen which I cannot control?
In this moment, I’m loving up on myself, and all the “hawks” I may encounter in my life.
My Maxwell. A little schnauzer with a big heart.
Photo credits in order of appearance:
Photo by Vincent van Zalinge on Unsplash
Photo by Hans Veth on Unsplash
Photo by Andrea Christensen
Recent Comments