Day of rest
Technology makes my life chaotic.
I love technology, obviously, but I don’t want it to control my life.
For me, remaining in control means consciously observing a day of rest on Sundays, away from technology and other distractions. It’s even a day away from my dog walking business.
A day of rest is hardly my idea, of course. People have been attempting to relax on Sundays seemingly forever. We need that.
A day of rest for me means no calling, texting, blogging, emailing, checking Facebook or working on anything business or money related from dawn until dusk.
This gives me much needed time to reflect, relax, write in an actual notebook, take photos, talk with Josh and spend time with my animals.
Ace and I had time to go on a nice, relaxing walk yesterday, the kind of walk where I actually connect with my dog and we are not stressed. I didn’t bring a leash. Didn’t need one.
When Ace and I are connected by our energy, he does exactly what I want without me asking. Without a leash, I must be conscious of that energy.
On these walks, I think about how lucky Ace and I are, and I wonder if I will ever have this kind of connection with any other dogs. I hope so.
We’ve been playing a lot of “touch” where I hold out my right hand and yell, “Ace, touch!” He comes charging as fast as he can, leaps up and bumps his nose into my palm. Much more fun than the usual, “Ace, come!”
We worked on some scent games, too. I had him wait while I zig-zagged through the field and randomly dropped an object I’d shown him. With the command “find it!” he goes to work.
It’s fun watching my dog circle wide, trying to catch the scent and then narrowing in – drool flowing – until he finds it.
I wonder what kind of hounds are in my dog’s ancestry, and what that nose could be capable of with proper direction.
This week has predicted temps in the high 30s. This is the time of year I am normally facing the brutal cold. I can’t believe my luck.
Brown Christmas, welcome.
Lindsay Stordahl
Tuesday 13th of December 2011
Yes, Ace usually looks a bit dopey, I agree. That's how he is in real life, too, not just the pics :) Ace is usually lazy, but he can be quite goofy and energetic when we visit his favorite parks, hang out with his favorite people or play his favorite games. I don't know what his choice of music is. I can usually get him to sing along to anything with some coaxing!
I just need a break from constantly checking email, blogs and so on. I love having a blog, but I don't like being available at all times. Sometimes I see that my friends are so interested in updating their FB page that they miss out on the actual moment in real life.
Christina
Monday 12th of December 2011
Oh yay! A picture of Ace running -- I hadn't seen one yet! I've returned to this picture about six times to figure out what I think of it. This is the best I've come up with:
Usually Ace looks sweet, soulful and even a bit dopey at times (in that adorable doggy way) -- he struck me as the kind of dog who would listen to blues, maybe some jazz. Here he looks like he'd also listen to some good classic rock and even some 90s stuff, like Nirvana or Pearl Jam... He looks super awesome, muscular, capable, focus, intent and smart, but also somehow incredibly humble and down to earth. I love it.
Anyway... great post. I do try to check out, but your post reminded me of why I think back so nostalgically on Sundays from my childhood, which were dedicated to family, rest, church, friends and great brunches that my dad made. Having a day of rest has been lost over the years, and it's hard to implement once you've developed new habits, but now I'm inspired to try again...