Tag Archives: Three Truths and One Wish

Tuesday Three Truths and One Wish

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  • Truth: My dogs get at least two hours of exercise a day. The primary way we provide this for them is walking, once in the morning and again in the afternoon.  As a working breed dog not quite two years old, Sam needs two walks and 2-3 play sessions in the backyard per day.  At 8.5 years old, Dexter doesn’t so much need both walks as love them.  It’s not just good for them but for us too. The physical exercise is good, but so is what a walk does for the mind.  I move, breathe, get out of my own head, but also go deeper into my own heart.

For example, when I wrote first thing this morning, I had no idea what my three truths and one wish for today would be.  I couldn’t think of anything.  I could think of one truth, or one wish, but that’s as far as I could get.  Then, I went on the morning walk, and this post became clear to me, the ideas and phrases building with each step.

  • Truth: Walking so early in the morning means we see things you wouldn’t if you waited. This morning, we saw two eyes lit up by my headlamp–could have been a fox, raccoon, skunk, or a cat, but all we saw were its eyes.  Then we saw a herd of 10-15 Mule Deer, standing still and quiet in the dark.  Then we heard the squawk of a Gray Owl, and saw it sitting on the branch over our heads, bobbing its head in warning and screeching at us.  When it flew away, to our right, we heard an answering “whoo, whoo” and turned to see two owls fly off together.  Then there was one of the beavers smacking its tail.  We started our walk under the stars and new moon, and by the end, we were watching the sun rise.

There are a few mornings a year when I grouch and grumble about a walk, usually because of especially nasty weather plus my nasty mood, but mostly, I am grateful.  The walk is usually one of my favorite parts of the day, (and if they could write, the boys would offer their agreement here).

  • Truth: A walk is one of the best ways to bond. This is true if you are talking about walking with dogs or people, or even about walking alone.  Moving forward in the same direction, dwelling in a moment, being together in a particular time and space binds you, connects you, you to them or you to yourself.  It’s an opportunity to be united, awake and alive in the world.  You never know what will happen, who or what you will see on a walk, and even as they might be alike, each walk is new and different.

  • Wish: That sometime soon, you can find a partner, or the place and time for a walk. “Whoever you are, no matter how lonely / the world offers itself to your imagination / calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting / over and over announcing your place / in the family of things.” ~~From “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver

  • What are you waiting for?  Where will you go? When?  Why not now?

Tuesday Three Truths and One Wish

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I realized this morning that I am in rehab–life rehab.  It’s a program of my own creation, but I am getting so much help from so many places.  This led me to think about what it means to restore, reconstruct, or rehabilitate.

1. Truth: What you feed grows stronger.  You have to be careful to “feed the right wolf.”  Pema Chodron talks about this in the first chapter of her book “Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears.” She says:

There was a story that was widely circulated a few days after the attacks of September 11, 2001, that illustrates our dilemma. A Native American grandfather was speaking to his grandson about violence and cruelty in the world and how it comes about. He said it was as if two wolves were fighting in his heart. One wolf was vengeful and angry, and the other wolf was understanding and kind. The young man asked his grandfather which wolf would win the fight in his heart. And the grandfather answered, “The one that wins will be the one I choose to feed.”

Habits are difficult to break, especially if they’ve hardened into addiction. Letting go is hard–but it is possible and so worth it.  I read a post yesterday on kind over matter by Tia Sparkles Singh “Letting Go: the Ultimate Act of Kindness” that I found really helpful.

2. Truth: Change is a process, a practice, a commitment, and it takes time and possibly many attempts. If you try and fail, you can try again, start over, begin again–just claim the magic “do-over.” Just like the seasons, the cycle of the moon, day and night, another chance comes around.

I mentioned these already in a post a few days ago, but they are worth repeating: Leo Babauta of zenhabits.net has written a few posts recently that I’ve found helpful: “How I Changed My Life, In Four Lines” and “The Half Step That Will Change Your Life.”

3. Truth: Help is available, if you want it. Once I was willing to start this process, this life rehab, help appeared, so much and so fast that I can barely keep up with it.

One wish: For those of us who are ready, I wish for us all the help and support we need.  For those who haven’t yet begun, but who feel the longing to start, I wish that this post might serve to plant a seed, to stir your intention, to cause you to take the first step.  For those who started and find themselves stuck again: I wish you a “do-over!” (Okay, so that was three wishes).

  • Go ahead.  Make your wish.