I’m sure this has been said 100 times before, but this came to me out of the blue and my brain felt inspired.

(Dog or cat person, this still applies. I am a dog person completely, but if you’re a cat person just replace “dog” with “cat”.)

I woke up a little late today after getting to sleep late because my teenager stayed out too late last night and when this happens I generally am a bit anxious/angry and need some inspirational reading to get my mind into the correct state to start the day. 

When this happens, my goto is a spiritual devotional I have been through multiple times but keep going back to that well because it always quenches. Today’s devotional was again about letting go, slowing down, and to stop worrying. You know, “Let go, Let God”, that phrase that is so hard to accept for those of us that are hard-chargers.

This morning’s inspiration came with a double whammy. The reading today was definitely what I needed but it also brought forth an extra helping of inspiration from another recent reading that was about gratitude. That one had to do with slowing down and smelling the flowers and appreciating the present and what “is”. You tracking with this?

So here I am, 5:50ish in the morning mainlining some inspiration to kick off my day and get me out of my Monday morning funk which is especially bad today as my original plans for the day got totally wrecked by one of my client’s needs. (Long story, but I thought this client was done with my services and I find out this morning they need 10-12 hours of my time today.) I was looking forward to new client work, which is always fun, and am being somewhat forced to do  dead horse work….ever been there?)

I raise my head from my reading and look to my right where my french bulldog Bean is peacefully sleeping in his banana bed, snoring away without a care in the world. This is a dog that we adopted 4+ years ago and he has had an extremely positive impact on our family and myself.

I don’t know his parents. I don’t know the people that owned his parents. I only know that somehow he came to Colorado from West Virginia escaping euthanization because he had some physical flaws that would have negatively affected his price to the breeder. To them, he was trash. They made the decision to pay to have him killed instead of selling him at a discount. That’s the truth, not a cloaked political statement. I’m glad they were horrible people because he’s now a treasure in my life.

He’s the only dog I know that constantly elicits an “I LOVE Bean” response from people on the first meeting. Just his presence and personality generates this. What an amazing gift he is making in the world. He’ll live a quarter of a human lifetime but his impact and effect are 10 lifetimes of achievement. 

But, he’s just a dog, right?

I don’t know much about his background. I don’t know what city, town or neighborhood he was born, I don’t know if his previous owners/parents were rich or poor. He isn’t perfect. He’s not a perfect specimen of his breed. He Snores, farts, marks furniture sometimes in the house and gets into the trash all the time and spreads it all over. The dude’s got issues.

With all these things wrong with him, he is still greatly loved and adored and always generates an immediate smile from every person in our family when we see him. Adored.

What if he wasn’t a dog? What if he was every person you met? What if you could meet, greet, and maintain the attitude that you have towards dogs with people?

It’s not just Bean. Because of Bean, I see that love and light in all dogs. When I do B to C sales in people’s homes I always light up when I meet dogs. Why can’t I/we do that with people?

Most of us approach dogs without judgment or prejudice and LOVE them from the start. We don’t think about anything but wanting to please and comfort them.

Makes me want to be a dog, how about you?

Today I am going out into the sales field to treat people like dogs.