Nothing Complicated About It…
So I finally did it… After months and years of contemplation and endless family debates on whether or not we should add a new member to the family, we eventually did – yes folks! we got a dog!
One may think – what’s the big deal about it? But for me just the thought of having a dog in my home was super scary. What was scary about it was not just the responsibilities such as the extra work, everyday walks etc., just the idea of having a dog in the house in it self was petrifying enough. I haven’t grown up with a dog and honestly I am scared of dogs !! But the reason I did this was purely out of love for my daughter. Since the day she started speaking, that’s all she’s wanted.
It’s amazing to think of the things we do out of sheer love. It could truly be one of the most liberating feelings in the world. At that moment I realized that when we operate out of love, our fears just disappear or maybe they don’t disappear but they don’t seem to be that big anymore or all consuming in the light of love.
If you look at our life today what’s the one thing that we long for and yet the one thing we are scared to give ? It’s love. Love that is not binding, non judgmental, not based on conditions but love that just is.. in its purest form. And when we bring this love in our lives everything becomes a little more fulfilling and a lot more beautiful.
I read somewhere “Even after all this time, the sun never said to earth you owe me. Just look at what happens with a love like this. It lights up the whole sky.”
Sometimes we get upset and angry when we get into conflict or arguments with our loved ones. This deep feeling of unworthiness and thoughts such as I don’t deserve it, I am right, I am not gonna give in, cloud our hearts. What do we do then? How do we end this conflict ?
We can eliminate all the pain, all the anger by ending it with love. If only we can muster the courage to say ‘I don’t agree but I love you.’ You will see how things will shift from anger to love. The other person has nothing to argue about when you’re coming from a place of love. As a mother of a six year old daughter, I couldn’t help but notice how simple it is for children to do this. I remember having this heated argument with my daughter and I was angry and upset, she then hugged me and said ‘I don’t like it when you re angry, I love you a lot. ‘ and in that instance, in that minute everything changed. It is so simple yet so powerful.
So coming back to my dog, I wouldn’t lie and say that every day is beautiful, we do have rough times like when he pees n poops…. like he just did and I wonder why did I do this to myself. And then I look at my daughter’s heart warming smile when she is with him and I know exactly why I did it.
by Aastha Dhawan
Spiritual Response Therapy (SRT) Practitioner
