Get the Dog.

There’s 1000 good reasons for not getting the dog you always dreamed of having. The list is easy to form in your mind and and it just goes on and on. The yearning starts in the heart, and gets killed off by the mind. The list is probably very sensible.

The thing is that like all spontaneous, heartfelt, and crazy decisions, getting a dog is the best one I ever made. The list of reasons to not do this was so long I never got to the end of it. It was something I was never going to do because you know…work, space, expense, time, hygiene…The minute I saw Jess and picked her up I knew there was no going back. This was my dog, and that was that, we would figure it out, and we did.

What I didn’t realise was that there are over 1000 good reasons to have a dog. The list is so long I haven’t reached the bottom yet, but the crux of it is that she urges me to love life, and be present in it. She helped me reconnect to nature, connect more deeply to myself and to other people. She’s a constant source of amusement and support. Every hurdle I crossed to have her in my life in a way that keeps her healthy and happy has been worth it for both of us.

You need to commit to the dog for keeps. You don’t know what will happen tomorrow or next year, so how do you commit to a dog for 15 years? You just do. Like anything worthwhile it requires a leap of faith and a promise on your part.

For me it was getting a dog, but for you it might be something else, like having a family, committing to someone or something in your life. You should do it. Having the intention and committing to it internally shifts mountains. It moves your life in the shape you want it to take.

Are there things you intend to change about your life one day? This list may appear shorter at first, you may think of 5 things and then one more and then one more…Change is full of freedom and fear. That list is longer than you think. To live fully, you need to consume life, not preserve it. You are, as everything, impermanent.

Lean into the unknown.

Breathe deeply.

It’s going to be good for you.