Yesterday, I was letting my dog out for the twelfth time in less than 30 minutes so she could chase a squirrel in our backyard. I was muttering about this not helping me get my work done. I was thinking about the paw cleaning that would be required (again) when Cindi wanted to come back in.
I also realized I was smiling. Not grinning; a full-on, whole face smile--because Cindi approaches squirrel-chasing with unbridled joy. Unfettered jump, wriggle, run, bark each and every time. It doesn’t matter if it is the first chase of the morning or chase 25 of the day, she is equally and gloriously excited.
Most days I seek contentment, calm, a sense of purpose, a way to stay grounded as time continues to be wobbly and the world swirls out of my control. I have actively happy moments of dancing while making dinner or singing or laughing at something one of my kids just said... But unbridled joy isn’t something I experience ofen, and living it vicariously through my dog is a gift.
Cindi isn’t shy about seeking her joy. If she doesn’t feel we are paying enough attention to her requests to go out (or come back in) she jumps repeatedly on the sliding glass door. We have paw and nose prints going up to four feet high on both sides of the door. If that doesn’t work, she will seek you out, dance on you or around you.
Once outside, the best description I have to offer is an antelope or Max, the dog in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” when he is leaping and soaring. Gravity seems to disappear, overtaken by boundless happiness and zeal.
What amazes me most is that her happiness is not tied to achieving a goal or novelty. She revels in the activity itself. She doesn’t care about catching the squirrel. Honestly, it doesn’t even matter if there even is a squirrel. Sometimes she chases invisi-squirrels. Sometimes she runs to the wrong tree, stands looking up and barking. Meanwhile the squirrel looks on with disdain from a different tree. She chases the same three squirrels who live in our yard (PJ, Gus and Mr. Blue Sky) up the same three trees and down the same fence every time.
Cindi has something to teach us all. Here’s to more unbridled joy in each of our lives.
— Kaye Gardner O’Kearny
