You may be a dog person, prefer cats, or own thoughts that sit perched on your shoulder like a parrot to mock you. Our preference of pets is like our preference of emotions. We all enjoy the ones that make our day better, make use feel loved, and bring out our playful side as we forget everything else. Unfortunately, chained in the backyards of our minds, some of us keep a ‘black dog’. The black dog doesn’t want to play well with others. When you pick up speed to run into your next endeavour, the black dog slows you down to a lethargic low.
Eventually the ropes of reason wear thin. The whimpers in the morning become barks at oddly hours of the night and you have no choice but to walk to dog. The uncomfortable task of addressing your feelings is much easier with another to help you hold the leash, but some of us still make the trip around the suburbs of our subconscious alone. Today I took my dog for a walk: I acknowledged what I was feeling and what may have stirred that response. I wrote things down, I vented, and even teared up.
We ran through the day at a frantic pace. So fast that I missed all the small pleasantries passing me by. We stopped only to chase the sent of even the smallest amount of negativity with hope of finding something to scratch out of proportion into a bigger mess.
It was though, but I made it. The day is over and now I’m home. The dog is back chained up and I’m hoping it’s a long while until my attention is taken once again. One unpleasant day is worth the coming better nights sleep. It’s just one of the many responsibilities we have to ourselves that work out better in the long run – no different to flossing, cutting the grass or vacuuming. If you’re having trouble making sense of all this then maybe your dog is barking a bit too loud..
