Let The Dogs Be Our Guide

This morning, I had a test of my judgemental tendencies. As one of my bloggy friends recently posted, I too am one of those people that secretly judge Parents Who Cannot Control Their Children In Public. My toddler and I teach a class at a nearby kid's gym, Monkey Business, which is great fun and an enormous treat for both of us. This morning, I listened to a Mom's harrowing story of her 3-yr old's complete nuclear meltdown in the middle of a crowded mall, kicking, punching, screaming and all. Her quote was, "I had to carry her out like a log, to prevent her punches from connecting." She was relieved no authorities were called to report a child abduction taking place. It seriously concerned her that they would be.

When I went to obtain my Level 1 Yoga certification with YogaFit, the mantra they indoctrinated in us to keep in mind before every practice was the following:

"Letting go of competition, expectation and judgement."

What an excellent way to live. If we all lived this way, repeating this to ourselves upon entering a dinner party, a fashion show, a blog post, a staff meeting.. well, we can envision the peace.

My dogs live this way. When we returned home from being out, and, come to think of it, every time we return home from being anywhere (including the front yard), my two labs greet us with energy and enthusiasm of which the Democratic National Committee would be envious. This particular morning, my black Lab greeted me with a mach-5 tail speed and presented his stuffed horse. His prized stuffed horse.

He was just that thrilled to see me. No judgement, no "where have you been?", no silent treatment for leaving them to fend for themselves on their plush, comfy, extra-stuffed Large sized personalized Orvis dog beds. Not to put too fine a point on it, but my (human) son has less personalized. Then again, he wasn't left in a cardboard box when he was 2 months old.

Letting go.. there may not be a competition. Reset the expectation. And judgement? Who are we to judge?