Are You Smarter Than My Dog?

I have a dog in my life named Rumi.

I have long been a dog lover, and have known a lot of sweet ones, great ones, naughty ones, and goof balls of all sizes, but have never met a dog as wonderful as this (no offense to all the other dogs I have loved). He is so kind and gentle, great with kids, well-behaved, sympathetic, snuggly, and dependable and that is just for starters. He just feels good. He has truly one of the most wonderful souls I ever met. We call him "The Roo" for short (though it's not any shorter) and he is a simply gorgeous 165 lbs black Newfoundland. To give you an idea, when The Roo decides to stand up on his back legs, he is taller tha
I am at 5'11", and his 165 is ALL muscle. When you see him running excitedly in the yard coming to greet you, tongue out, fur blowing back, smile on his face, you definitely laugh out loud ... and brace yourself. He is a big boy.

As you might imagine, when The Roo makes up his mind to physically do something - or not do something - there is little anyone else can do about it. (What a great trait, eh?) So from the time he was very little, Rumi was trained to listen and obey. Mostly it was for his safety or his health: no stairs so his hips would stay strong, no roads so he could be outside but not hit by a car, etc., but one of the things he was trained to do was to not go in the living room. This was mostly for the sake of the cat who is NOT impressed with Rumi in a favorable way, and the furniture. Now that Rumi is older, though, his "parents" decided that he could be allowed in the living room and in fact would like him to be there so he could be closer to them and more snuggly, so the other day when he started inching his way in, they said "ok Rumi! Good boy! Come on!"

Rumi was puzzled and surprised. The confusion that ensued was amazing. Praise, physical love, treats, pushing, pulling, coaxing, cajoling, repeated attempts over days and days ... none of it mattered. You could not get The Roo to go into the living room. Now mind you he wanted to go in. He likes the living room and it is like nirvana to him with his family in there. He would creep into the corner, edging in a little at a time, but after a few inches would stop. It mattered not if someone was watching, if he was excited and very badly wanted in, or what kind of encouragement he got, The Roo would not enter the living room.

After a week or so we gave up (though still try occasionally). Rumi sits here right now, lying on the floor at the edge of the living room, looking in wistfully as I write. He could come in, and would receive nothing but good things from doing so, but there is no way it will ever happen. We laugh, we shake our heads, and we give him a kiss as we step over him to get to the couch.

All of this, of course, led me to think about myself and the people I coach and work with. There are so many of us living like Rumi. Wistfully wishing for stronger intuition, a clearer life, better things, all of which seem to be literally right in front of us and available to others, but we can't get there. We can't get there because we both live in the past and have a fear of imagined pain of some kind. We think to ourselves "i don't know how to get there" or "one time I got hurt or scared doing something just like that" or even "i just can't" and we sit down and refuse to move forward. And then our life becomes not about moving forward, but about the story of how we cannot possibly do what we want to do. Our life becomes about how we cannot go into that nirvana that we sit on the edge of.

It is easy to have stories, reasons, excuses about our lives, and I say that without judgment. Some of them are even very, very true and real. But just as it is true that we have certain conditions in life that shape how our lives look, the biggest condition is our willingness to love and open and trust and go forward in the present moment. We limit ourselves, we hold ourselves back. Rumi could be in a room he wants to be in, snuggling with a family he loves, but he isn't. (And given his strength, you must know that if Rumi decided to go IN the living room, there would be nothing we could do to change him from doing that either.) And Rumi could decide ten minutes from now that enough is enough and walk right on in here and sit down on my feet. The choice is his.

Intuition is one of the greatest tools you will ever have to live the life you really want. And may I remind you that living the life of your dreams is not only a nice thing, but an obligation you have to yourself and to others. If you live a life that is less than what you are capable of, then I cannot live my best life. It's a game we all have to play together. Being present and trusting and open to what you have right here already are all things that come with strong intuition. Intuition is something we ALL have, ALL possess, ALL are born with. It is there for you ... your inner knowing, your factory installed GPS, your guidance system is perfect for you. It will tell you HOW to get into the living room. It will guide you through all those things you just cannot do. Custom built and installed, it is the greatest gift you have in moving you through your life to your heart's desire. Please remember to turn it on and listen to it. It will always guide you well, even if you disagree about the route.

Happy Independence day, my friends. (Write me if you need help with your GPS.)

Much Love,
Laura

P.S. We have some new blogs....http://LaughingDivas.wordpress.com and http://GratefulGiving.wordpress.com. Check them out and link to your RSS feeds!