Every day I take my dog outside so that he can enjoy the wilderness (my back yard) and attempt to be in his natural habitat. Except my dog is a diva. HE is a bitch. He would rather be lounging by the heater in my kitchen instead of breathing fresh air. With this said, every day on cue he relentlessly barks when placed outside. I have learned to accept this as fact. There is no changing it. He barks at the neighbor’s dog, he barks at me (one of the window’s in my room is directly in his sight), he barks at squirrels, he barks at the neighbor children. You name it: he barks at it. I am often in awe that he doesn’t tire from the constant barking. It is the same thing day after day. Routines are typically comforting, but this one? I am not a fan.
This got me thinking, am I a hypocrite? Here I am, ready to beat my dog for consistently barking from morning till night. Yet I have my own repeated offenses, I take part in, against my inner voice of reason. I eat things that are unhealthy when I know I shouldn’t. I spend money on things I don’t need whilst pretending they are practical purchases. I am sometimes more present in my day dreams than in reality. I repeat these habits over and over and while they may not be day to day: they are my version of never ending barking.
Is this where I give you some super reflective resolution? Probably not because your girl will always have trouble saying no to Chick-fil-a (and don’t give me any “they have good salads” BS). Shopping makes me feel better, even when I am in no need of retail therapy. Some people get on juice cleanses, and I shop. Its all the same to me. I am also entirely too invested in coming up with ways to nonchalantly meet celebrities. These things I will have trouble putting to rest.
However, if I am cognitive of my “barking” then I can be cognitive of ways to counter act the things I am not willing to take out of my life routine. (Are you feeling a little betrayed because I told you I wasn’t going to get reflective and then I TOTALLY got reflective?)
I can exercise, I can make more money, and I can marry Sam Hunt- (don’t be a Debbie and tell me I can’t because I won’t waste my time on negativity). The new year doesn’t have to be the only time for resolutions and not every commitment to change has to be vast. Sometimes there are little things we can do to make sure we don’t end up drowning in monotony - like my dog (going through the same motions every day with no realization of a different path to take).
My conscience can be eased knowing sometimes the best dose of medicine is just a little spontaneity. If life is a bowl of Chili, then I want it to be pretty freakin’ spicy. We only have so many hours in a day and we will never know just how many of those we get. Life is tricky that way. I pledge not to get stuck in tedious “barking” and I promise that I will take part in productive behaviors that cancel out some nonproductive tendencies. There are things about myself that realistically won’t change, but I don’t want those to leave me stuck in the mud.
Leave being stuck in the mud to country songs - its only cute when it happens there.
To my lovers and my haters:
Laters,
K
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