Tag: unconditional love

For a life so circumscribed, how is it that our bounties feel so limitless?

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[…] But Odie’s most favourite phrase in the whole world, the one that makes him delirious; that has him scrambling on my laptop (and deleting entire sections of writing); reaching ever higher to lick the kids; making his trademark bark-moan-beg sounds if we don’t quickly get our act together, is: “Walkie time!”

To offer to walk Odie is to taste pure happiness.

Every day, we walk Odie along the same paths. He eats the same food at the same time. We use the same words to the same effect. For a life so circumscribed, how is it that our bounties feel so limitless? In a life of ups and downs, perhaps it is the uncomplicated nature of the relationship that we have come to love. […]

He will begin a new year of receiving and giving joy in the same ways as the last four years.
It’s a simple life. And therein lies its beauty.

— Ranjana Srivastava, from “In a Life of Ups and Downs, we have come to cherish our dog’s uncomplicated love” (The Guardian, December 26, 2024). Ranjana Srivastava is an Australian oncologist, award-winning author and Fulbright scholar. Her latest book is called A Better Death

irrefutable evidence

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Dogs
are
convincing evidence that there is a God.

~ Michael Wade, Random Thoughts: Brief Reflections and Moments of Clarity

Photo: Our Zeke (2007-2016)

Let them relax into you

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patti digh

“How do we hold presence for others? How do we hold love for others, with no agenda? I can’t help but wonder what the world would be like if we all gave unconditionally and held presence for others, even strangers. Squeeze in beside someone so you are arm-to-arm. Stop moving away. Be fully present; listen to their story without being tempted to respond by recounting your own. be there, with words or not. Don’t check email, withdraw, or cook dinner as you listen. Recognize and own how your presence ‘changes the experiment,’ changes others. Show them that you truly care whether you see them or not. Lend them your strong, warm arm. Let them relax into you.”

~ Patti Digh

Patti Digh is a writer, a speaker, a teacher – – and she describes her most significant job being a mother to her two daughters.  She was born in a small Southern town in North Carolina. She went to a small Quaker college (Guilford College) and then to graduate school in English and Art History at the University of Virginia.  She landed a job in Washington, DC, as a receptionist for a nonprofit organization–and worked in nonprofit organizations for years.  She’s written six books including her best seller “Life is a Verb.”  She describes her work as opening space for people to say a big “YES” to their lives–before it’s too late.  “I’m about living like you’re dying–because you are. Each moment is precious, and magic. It’s hard to remember that when the laundry piles up and the dishes need washing, I know. My job is to remind you that those “ordinary” things are your life–and to see what is extraordinary in them. To help you tell a story with your life that you’ll love and be proud of at the end of it.”  She turned 50 and got a tattoo to mark that passage and to remind me always of three core questions from Buddha that guide her:

  1. How well did you love?
  2. How fully did you live?
  3. How deeply did you let go?
  4. Did you make a difference?

Source: Patti Digh Website:  37days.com

Credits: Quote – Thank you makebelieveboutique.com. Image & Bio Background: 37days.com