Curling up beside me, her little head resting on my hip, Marin (our dog) sleeps. I breathe in deeply and sigh contentedly. My family is all home. Everyone is where they should be. All is well in the world.
Earlier this week, we went on a family reunion getaway. While the environment was dog friendly, I decided the best option would be for Marin to go back to the shelter she came from for a two-night stay instead of coming with us. Doors and windows would be opening constantly and small children would be running around, Marin would be terrified and might try to do a runner. Marin’s safety and comfort were paramount in my mind.
How would she feel though about returning to her rescue? Would she be scared thinking she had been abandoned again? Or even worse, would she love it so much to be back in her old stomping ground where she had been queen?
Needless to say, there was a great deal of angst in my decision to leave Marin.
This got me to thinking back months ago when we took Marin as a favor…a tribute to a person who had done so much for us as a family. We already had two dogs at the time and a third one was not something we were looking for.
The thought of having another creature to caretake felt inconvenient, and my gut said not a good idea.
But loyalty overruled my gut, and we said yes.
Now she is curled up next to me, and everyone in the family missed her while she was gone. She is now a part of the heartbeat of our family, and we can’t imagine life without her.
While I believe that in general trusting your gut/instinct is a good rule to live by, I am learning that my gut needs to be questioned a bit before it can be completely trusted. Questions like…
Are you scared of stepping outside your comfort zone?
Will you look back and have regret?
Is it inconvenient?
If the answer is yes to any of the above, the gut needs to be challenged because our evolutionary gut is designed to keep us safe, and safe can keep us small.
And sometimes choosing to stay small means your hip remains cold at night.
Beware: Don’t choose the convenient, the comfortable, the respectable, the socially acceptable. Choose something that rings a bell in your heart. - Rajneesh
Any inconveniences knocking on your door this week?
How I Was Creative Today
Dropping one of my kids at an appointment and needing to kill an hour, I decided to do some exploring and looked up an eagle walk in the area. Tromping about, I took lots of pics and did find the trailhead, but found myself with too little time to walk the trail or find an eagle to walk with. I did, however, give myself creative kudos for finding a new path to explore. Next time.