Non-Attachment through Puppy Walking

There's more to the story, but basically I wound up as a "puppy walker," which means I have a puppy who lives with me until she's old enough to start serious training to be a seeing eye dog. The deal is she comes with me everywhere, like I can't leave her alone for more than an hour or two, and I take her to obedience classes and keep her alive and well for a year and a half until she's old enough to start serious training.

I know, I'm really nice.

And I'll tell you what. I have never been asked the same thing more in my entire life than I have while walking this puppy. You probably already know what it is, because you've probably already thought it reading this post. "Won't it be hard to give her up?" is the first thing out of literally everybody's mouth when they understand the deal. Universal.

So yea, rub it in. Remind me that I'm going to be giving up that smooshy sweet puppy face that lives with me 100% of the time and comes with me everywhere and is my joy and snuggle bunch. Don't worry, everybody says it.

To be honest, raising a puppy is hard work, not to mention the damage done to my home and property. (One of the deals I have about this job is I don't mention the details about that "puppy stuff" so I don't give the wrong impression about the role. But it's there.) So sometimes when people say, "won't it be hard to give her up," my real feeling is NO, it won't be hard. I'll be happy to see her go. She's a pain and I have to take care of her all the time and bring her everywhere and talk to everyone about how cute she is and how sad I'll be when she's gone.

But that's not all true. I will miss her of course and I sometimes tear up when I imagine her walking with her harness being someone's transportation and how smart she is and how good she'll be doing her amazing job. And I thought that would be the non-attachment part I'll have to do, and it probably will be. I'll get to practice non-attachment when I say good-bye to her in a year.

In the meantime, I get to practice non-attachment with myself and other people and their predictable comments. I live right downtown with no yard and lots of transient people who are new to her every time I walk outside, which means I have to engage with people every single time she needs to pee. Having an adorable puppy with me removes my veil of anonymity and makes me a target of attention and opportunities to interact. I haven't had that since my daughter was a baby when total strangers would cross the street to come and say hello.

I've changed over the months and I don't mind talking to people and answering questions about her. I don't feel anxious or impatient about it. I've come to expect it and even enjoy it. I feel more patient with the world and I have noticed I don't mind waiting in lines or things that used to bug me don't bug me so much. I feel grateful for what's happened through this process of puppy walking that's only just begun.

I'll share some of the cute photos of her here so you get to know her. (KC the yellow lab still visits but she doesn't live with me anymore.)

YTT Starts in the Morning

I'm excited tonight because the Yoga Teacher Training intensive starts tomorrow morning. I love teaching YTT - it's one of the best jobs ever. It also stresses me out a bit and I get a bit nervous before it starts but that's not a bad thing. I'm so glad that it's finally here and that there will be a whole new group of people I'll get to be with starting in the morning.

This training will be different than any I've lead before as it's all day intensive training for 12 days in a row and then we'll take a break and do another 12 days in a row. I'm ready and I'm nervous and excited and everything.

I've said good-bye to my daughter and hello to Kat Mills and tomorrow I'll say hello to the new YTTers.

The Fringe had a bit of a hangover to it once it was all over because it was so fun and compact. There was some withdrawal. I imagine this intense training may have some similarities, and if that's at all true, this is going to be a blast.

I'm already quite aware that this is going to be a group affair, and having been in many groups in my life, I expect this one to act like one. It's predictable that there will be people who talk more than others, people who withdraw, there will be skeptics and resisters, open sorts and curious ones. We'll all share a love of yoga and that's the coolest thing. We'll create a safe, fun environment that will be a place we're all dying to get to in the mornings. Look out Ottawa and beyond (people are coming from all over to do the training) because we're prepping a whole new batch of teachers!

On another note - one of my mom's dogs had puppies the other day and Remi got to witness their births in the middle of the night. You can watch them live on the Puppy Cam.

Monday

I've got so much going on, I'm not sure where to start. Let's see. I finished the video I was working on and it looks great. I'll see if I can post it to YouTube and flash it here, or at least a little bit of it to give you the idea.


Remi and I taught Mother-Daughter yoga together on Saturday and it was a hit. I wasn't sure we'd find enough mothers and daughters to have a class, but sure enough, we did and it was really great. We both had colds and/or allergies so Remi's energy especially was down, but we're looking forward to the next one in May, on Mother's Day. Since we did the class Remi's been doing more poses at home (I bought her a new mat) and it was such a great way for us to connect.



I got some energy healing today from someone from here, and I must say, it's really cool. If you're up for some non-invasive energy shifting, check this out.

My Presence Process is going super-well and I feel really grounded and good and I think I'll continue it. The funny thing about it is that I was doing it just over two years ago when I met John. I was at the part where I was watching my life like a movie and I wasn't going to get involved much in my life but I couldn't help it. I met him, we got together, and I stopped the Presence Process! I guess it's time I pick it back up. I've just finished the part I was already at back then and now I'm going on.

My old dog, Zahra, still has puppies for sale. She's not really an old dog, she was never really mine and she's not really selling them herself, but she lived with us for a while and she had puppies at Christmas and my mom is doing a great job raising those three fluff balls, but not a great job of selling them. So if you or someone you know is interested in a healthy, spunky, delightful dog of a rare breed that come from an awesome lineage and a very happy home, let me know. They are Magic, Dawn, and Skylie, and they're a riot. I spent yesterday with them and it's too bad they'll need to get split up but chances are they won't be all adopted together! (This is an old picture of Zahra.)