A month (or so) of dog wisdom

On January 1st of this year I began an Instagram project, chronicling the year with one photo a day of my dog. He’s just turned 12 and I feel like we’ve only got so much quality time left. And, OK, so I missed a few days when I was travelling in Thailand, but except for those days, I’ve adhered to my mission. See the whole lot (plus my other insta-stuff) here.

And on this thread, for the past month or so, I’ve been posting “dog wisdom” — these tiny, daily bits of magic I glean from this silly, smelly, messy animal with whom I share my life and my heart. This follows-on a piece I wrote, called Messing up the Bed and Other Things I’ve Learnt From My Dog.

Here are some of my favorites from the InstaGus series:

Go forward into the summertime, greeting every golden hour of every lovely day as precious. Summer lasts mere weeks…romp in the tall grass.

Never take your eyes off the ball

Acquiesce to the fact that you don’t always hold the keys

Wednesday: a good day to reflect on what has, and what hasn’t yet, happened this week

Always carry something with you that makes you feel safe and contented

Celebrate the small everyday magic… (today we helped teach a fledgling bird to fly)

Cherish true friends…Many people come and go in our lives. The important ones make themselves known.

Look! Squirrel! Always be ready for squirrels, but don’t let them make you lose sight of what’s important.

Trust your feet and have fun…

Think deeply, let go of what doesn’t serve, then play!

Resign to that which is out of your control; savour the moments of brightness…

Find your element…

If you liked this piece, please click the little heart ❤ on the bottom of the page to recommend and/or share with others. Read more of my musings here. Follow my year of Gus on Instagram.