Every one wants more freedom. No one wants to be told what to do.
But in truth, we’re often happier when we have a routine. Just like dogs.
If you want to see a neurotic dog, try feeding him at a different time each day, disappear for days at a time, and hide his favorite toys. Dogs are happy with routine.
And despite what we think, so are people.
November is National Blog Post Month or NaBloPoMo. Bloggers are encouraged to post 30 times in 30 days. I’m taking up the challenge.
Blogging will be my daily practice. Just like walking Honey.
Knowing that I’ll be blogging every day gives me freedom. Freedom to stop thinking about whether I should write or not. I’ve committed to a daily post and that’s what I’ll do.
You probably understand what I’m talking about. You’ve committed to loving your animals. You don’t have to think about whether you’ll take care of them each day. It’s a given. There’s no need for discussion.
Religious traditions from all over the world emphasize daily practice as a spiritual discipline.
I see walking a dog or writing a blog as potentially enriching a daily practice as meditation or doing good works. On December 1, I’ll know if I was right.
Your Turn: Do you ever think of caring for your animals as an intentional, daily practice? How about blogging?
Kudos to you Pamela! I definitely think things like blogging, grooming and training are more effective when they’re a habit. I write an hour every day, though I don’t always publish what I write. (You should see my drafts folder. It’s a disaster.) I’m looking forward to 30 days of your thoughts!
Well done for taking up the challenge. I have admiration for you and I hope you manage. I do enjoy reading your posts 🙂
Sian and Caesar xxx xxx
Caring for them is a daily habit/practice. I often make changes in other areas of my life so as to accommodate their routines. Both my rescued boys have some anxiety and neuroses, so I try not to switch things up on them too much.
I am going to attempt to blog daily as well!
I will be doing that in December…daily is hard, I always do M, W, F, and often add in a fourth day, sometimes a fifth, but seven is lots of work! Good luck…we look forward to seeing what you come up with!
Good for you taking up the challenge! I’m not sure if I could do it. I can’t keep up with things when posting 3-4 times per week. I know that I am just as routine oriented as my dogs, and I hate disruptions to it as much as they do!
I’ve felt pressure to blog daily and it wasn’t a good thing … I’ve been practicing letting go and not blogging daily to remind myself that I’m doing this cause it’s fun and I love it … I did a 30 day challenge last year and it was tough, but I was proud that i finished it…so I wish you well and look forward to seeing how it goes for you
Ditto what Beth said about reminding [my]self that I’m doing this cause it’s fun…, and look forward to seeing how it goes for you.
Taking care of my dogs IS a daily practice for me, but I can’t say that I think of it that way. To me, taking care of my dogs is pure joy. They give me so much love — all of it unconditional — that I don’t think of it as part of my routine. It’s part of me being me.
I laughed out loud at the line about feeding your dog at a different time if you want to see him get neurotic. Lately I have felt more like I have to be intentional about taking care of them well. Kind of like kids when they get to be teenagers. I admire you for taking the challenge to blog everyday. Pretty sure I couldn’t do it, or if I did, what was written would be mostly crap only worthy of the draft folder. 😉
I have a new more regular schedule at work so both the dogs and I have a more regular schedule at home. Whew. That said, I took up the challenge on another of my 3 blogs and don’t think I can do all three – but am inspired to say the least. Write on!
I blog everyday… depending on your priorities for the day it could be stressful or not 😉
Good for you, Pamela! I try to blog every day, but have been working on way too many things lately…gotta get back to it!
Like Beth, I have also recently been trying NOT to sit down at the computer everyday. As life has been more and more turbulent for us lately, the feeling that I HAD to sit down and work on the blog made me sad. It’s supposed to be fun, relaxing and a creative outlet. The animals we share our lives with thrive on routine (as do I!) but when life throws routine busting wrenches in the works, I think it’s okay to just go with the flow and do what your heart desires. As long as there is togetherness, the pets are fine with some twists, turns and shake-ups in routine every once in a while!
If only I was as consistent with blogging as I was with caring for Maya and Pierson. 😛
Good luck to you – I alternate between sitting at my computer not knowing what to write and then coming up with three ideas all at once. The only problem is like today, by the time I will be in a position where I can write them I’ve forgotten what I was going to write about!
Bwa ha ha! That’s why people sell thousands of software programs to help people keep track of their ideas.
As for me, I carry a notebook with me everywhere I go. When I have a blog post idea, I write it down. I even bring it to bed with me in case I get an idea in the middle of the night.
So I don’t think November will see me running out of ideas. 🙂
Woohoo even more Something Wagging! That’s awesome. Can’t wait to check in every day to read your blog and start my day with your thoughts, wisdom and verbal wanderings (and I mean that in a positive way)!
I would love to do NaBloPoMo, however this November isn’t a good month for me.
Great post, Pamela! For me, taking care of the dogs equates to taking care of me. I do it because it’s fulfilling, it’s fun, it’s who I am. And I think blogging is very similar — I love it.
Good luck on the 30 day challenge xx