WHOSE WALKING WHOM

PRACTICE: To whom or what are you refusing to hear?

Every living thing that has been created has a message to deliver if we are open to hearing. They can instruct us on living a life of devotion and in harmony with others AND how to forgive slights and inattention. Case study for today – my son’s white boxer.

He is old. I occasionally dog sit this old dog. He loves his master, my husband and me with a selfless, sweet, forgiving, and attentive heart. For more than two years, this dog tried to tell me something. I stubbornly refused to acknowledge his message. I was inattentive.

He requires three things: food and water, to be in your presence constantly and walked twice daily. I expected him to walk thirty minutes each time. When we first began this practice, we walked briskly. Midway through the walk is an open space where he can run and relieve himself. The problem, which became increasingly evident, with this regimen is twofold. My son doesn’t walk the old dog the distance nor the pace that I do. Secondly, descending the stairs has become a challenge. The first time the dog’s body sent the message that it was too much, resulted in an emergency vet visit and a prescription for a muscle relaxant. I saw the decline but was not receiving the message.

I finally got it when he started waiting for me to return to a room rather than following me. His message was clear. “I am old, I love walking but shorter and slower walks please.” When I heard his message, I decided the dog should walk me not I the dog.

I hold the leash to keep him from running into the street or pooping in an inappropriate space. We meander along the route that he knows well.

When the dog walks me, I can see the world through his eyes, his nose – the position of his ears. The earth worm gets to live another day because the dog stopped, and I looked down. His nose leads him to sniff around a neighbor’s mailbox and I get to wonder about the animal ‘s scent he has discovered. His ears stand at attention, and I know that he hears a car or sees a cat.

What lessons have I learned from being walked by an old dog? I learned, others are not required to follow my agenda, to slow down and to be more observant. AND he has taught me that I may not be able to teach an old dog new tricks, but an old dog might be able to teach me a thing or two.

Job 12:7

PONDER THIS THOUGHT --- Teaching and learning are always reciprocal.