I bet you’re wondering what on earth my dog has to do with what’s missing in your life….am I right?

What could an animal have to do with your life? What could an animal you don’t even know have to do with your life?

Grab a cup of tea or coffee and find out…

As some of you may remember, one of my two Siberian huskies died almost 2 years ago.  I was left with Jackie and things have been rough with her (health wise) for the past year…but that will come later.

I had Jackie and Crystal for 9 years before Crystal left us. I was always yelling at them…dead birds in the house – once there was a possum (fortunately I was away and my neighbor got the brunt of that wonderful woman that she is). I had to get bookcases with glass doors so they wouldn’t eat the books. I had to “doggie proof” the house every day when I went to work – put things away or push them away from the edge of the table or counter, close all the doors etc. Don’t get me wrong – I loved them but they were what I considered “typical” huskies – always in trouble.

Well, once Crystal left and it was just Jackie and me, I quickly realized that Jackie was THE PERFECT DOG. I have had dogs all my life and she is the most well behaved and really perfect dog I’ve ever seen. She does NOT get into anything, doesn’t catch things, doesn’t get up on the counter or table, doesn’t eat books etc. AND she follows commands. I was truly amazed…but also felt pretty guilty. Why? Because I had spent all these years yelling at both of them when it was really only Crystal that was being bad, not Jackie. I should have been loving her for being so special.

What had happened is what happens to many of us. We don’t look beyond the surface. We go along with a blind eye to the details or to what’s behind the external appearance. How often have you hear “don’t judge a book by its cover”? That’s the same thing. And I’ll tell you that that has happened to me more than once. I have had people ignore me in furniture stores or house shopping because I was wearing blue jeans or cut off shorts. But then when they find out I wanted to pay cash for the whole enchilada (if I stayed in that store – remember “Pretty Woman” where the lady wouldn’t wait on her and she had all that money to spend), their attitude was different.

So what should you do now? Take a look around you but don’t be in a hurry for once – we move way too fast in this world today. Look at things in your life but then look past the surface. Is there something beneath the surface that you are grateful for or that has more meaning than you think. What’s right there in front of you that you’ve been searching for all your life.  Have you read “Acres of Diamonds“? You should – it’s about a man who wanted to be rich and was searching all over his world for diamonds and sold his land to go search some more. Turns out there were diamonds all over his very own property but he had never looked there.

What riches are you missing out on because you’re not looking?

Once you find those riches, do not neglect them! Pay attention to what you love and find today.

Terrie