Lessons from the Pup Side

Always find time for the things that make you feel alive!
Unknown Author

by Skip Cohen

It's Sunday morning, and five months of the pandemic, like many of you, is having a less than positive impact on my heart and soul. What's interesting is that Covid-19 isn't taking the toll as much as the controversy between politics and science - It adds to the polarization in opinions of just about anything. I find myself dreaming about us living alone in Antarctica!

The challenge is not losing sight of our goal of surviving this mess and being back to a more acceptable norm in the future. And while I used to think that "future" was right around the corner, who knows when things will get better - but that doesn't change the need for optimism and the never-ending search for something to smile about.

So, Sheila and I got a lesson yesterday from Belle and Lucy. They both turned a year old this past week, and for a treat, it was time for their first frozen yogurt. Their focus, the minute their tongue hit the yogurt, couldn't be interrupted. Nonstop, sharing the frozen treat, gave us a moment of respite from worrying about the day-in-day out stresses that have become the new norm while hunkered down!

The short video below says it all - they weren't quitting for anything. And neither were our smiles!

And there's my point and the lesson, thanks to two furry four-legged pups who have helped us stay focused. We're all bored and dealing with different levels of fear, anxiety, and frustration. Like many of you, there are times when it just seems so gloomy.

That's the point where we all need to find something that makes us smile. Something that puts aside the pain of what we're going through and just makes us sing. And while that sounds outrageously sappy and hokey - this is a time to listen to our hearts and shut off everything negative from the outside.

​We will get through this, and we can do it if we stay focused on what's most important, our hearts, family, friends, and good old optimism. I'm not suggesting you sugar-coat anything, but stop letting the news-media trolls and their social media followers into your life. Watch the news less, read recognized sources more, and ignore the politicians.

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It took one frozen yogurt for Sheila and me to smile and recognize how grateful we are for what we have. It didn't make any of our fears go away, just helped to prioritize what's most important, what we have together.

Take the time to find something you haven't done before, or at least in a long time. Find that thing that makes you smile, even a phone call to a good friend you miss, will help make it a better day!

Wishing everybody a day obnoxiously filled with Alfred E. Neuman, What me worry? moments. And most of all, stay focused on a better future. We're all missing a level of freedom that's beyond our reach at the moment. Don't give up on it and do whatever it takes to find those simple things that can make you smile today.

​Happy Sunday! 
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