Posts Tagged presence

The Art of Love

March 10th, 2009 by Elizabeth

Back on December 30, 2008 I introduced you to one of my heroes, Miss Pebbles LaPrade. Today I am excited for you to meet another one of my heroes: Mr. Monty LaPrade.

Monty is my hero because he sees the good in everything. The good in a biscuit, the good in a rainy day, the good in the veterinarian, even the good in “being on punishment” (His tail wags the whole time he is being scolded). He finds complete joy in chasing a cat or my neighbor’s annoying, nosy cocker spaniel while chipmunks give him the excitement of testing out his Houdini-backyard-escape skills.

He runs into the woods with complete abandon, flying off of hills into ravines all because he is filled with joy and presence. I’ve watched for years as he careens off a slope as if he has targeted the juiciest squirrel ever. The beauty is that usually there is nothing specifically there. Just the joy of being. The joy of the woods. The joy of his present moment and no other.  Enjoying life as it is.

Monty is my hero because he grows my heart. How could my heart not double in size after looking into those big, brown, captivating eyes and licked to within an inch of my life? He doesn’t even have ulterior motives with this crazed affection of his like, “Hey! I will surely get extra biscuits tonight with this!” No. He is just Love. All he truly knows is Love; an admirable ability to say the least. And the interesting thing is that we are all really just that: Love. Unfortunately, we often forget that and get caught up in our ulterior motives or other self-serving thoughts or ways of being. Yes, we are only human and we are here to learn the true art of Love. Monty is here in my life as a Master teacher of that art. I embrace his sweet lessons as he innocently touches my heart. His lessons are powerful and subtly pack a punch. And often one of these lessons in particular stands out the most:  perhaps the world would be a better place if it did just go to the dogs…