Our Greatest Teachers; Our Pets

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Haley
The newest edition to my family is Haley.  She is 2 months and 2 weeks old…I rescued her from the ASPCA (as I did my 4 year old guy Fitz – pictured here when I rescued him as a kitten the same age).

The reason she is now part of the family is because I had to put my guy to sleep…Sawyer was sick and it was time…and it was very painful loss. Anyone who loves their pets knows how it feels…

Now I have this new energy in the house – filled with excitement, joy, wonderment and love. The circle of life of feeling joy and sadness at the same time.

Haley is excited to be alive every minute of every day. The smallest things bring her joy. She is playing, running, purring, and giving and receiving love from me, and her new brother. Everything she sees is a wonderment…

The field of positive psychology tells us the things that we need to do to find joy in life: be optimistic, find pleasure, bring fun into your life, give to others, be grateful, connect to the people you love, find meaning, forgive, have flow (by this, I mean have the hours pass so quickly because of how much you enjoy what you are doing), zest for work and having interests…

Every day, my goal is to help people feel their joy—to get out of their own way and find a sense of enchantment with this thing we call life and all the greatness it has to offer. I use words, encouragement, and the principles from positive psychology, and I push and push and push.

In one week with my new girl, I discovered what I think I have always known, but never felt it so acutely; this little kitten exhibits all of the lessons we humans need to learn.


The truth is that we have to allow ourselves to get back to basics—
- To wake up and be excited to start our day and see where it will take us.

- Make life an adventure that unfolds and be curious about what it has to offer.

- Marvel at a sunrise or sunset, make time for great friends, explore the world


Our pets have more to teach us than we can teach them—about what really matters.


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