Sydney's Resilience

I learned a very valuable lesson from my dog this week: resilience. My youngest puppy....well, I really can't call him a puppy. He's going to be 14 years old this year. My youngest dog, Sydney, had a very trying experience. He developed an infection in one of his eyes. Without going into the gory details, that infection, in just a matter of hours, ended up creating a hole in his cornea, thereby leaving him with no site in that eye. He had to undergo surgery to remove the eye entirely. He is home now recovering from his ordeal.

While going through this traumatic experience, not once did Sydney show any signs of remorse, grief, or agony. Although is was a bit lethargic after his surgery, he continued to persevere and get stronger by the hour. He seemed to simply accept what was happening. If you re-read what what I wrote above, I used words like "gory," "ordeal," and "traumatic." Those are MY words. If Sydney could speak, I don't believe he would use these words at all. He just looked up at me with his one eye and solemn face and seemed to say to me, "I'm going to be ok. Don't worry. I'm still here. What done is done. Let's move forward." Thank you, Sydney.

So, I sit in gratitude with my resilient Miniature Pincher. Sometimes we just need to take a moment and be grateful for all that we have: our healthy, out family, our job. Don't dwell too much about the past. Accept what IS. Move forward with strength and determination. I invite you, therefore, to just sit for your home yoga practice. Sit (in Easy Pose or a simple cross-legged position), close your eyes, and recall all that you have, all that you are. Be grateful for the moment. Be IN the moment. Be with your Breath. BE the Breath. Life is too short to get stuck in the worry and concern. Take it from Sydney, even in the darkest moments, there is still light.

Namaste.