ode to boo and spooky

we have 3 dogs, all of them rescue dogs, two are "sisters", beautiful junkyard shar pei pit bull mixes that someone in our neighborhood abused and then abandoned. Despite their bad reputation, Doug took them in about 7 years ago, (we were dating at the time) and they were mean, mean, mean. Strangely enough, their names were Petite and Babette. Doug changed their names to a more befitting Spooky and Boo. Upon meeting me, Spooky promptly bit me in the leg - from behind- a sneak attack. Luckily things went uphill from there and with a stable home, regular meals, nature hikes, and lots of love, the girls have mellowed out considerably. A sneak attack is more like dogbreathy licking. Dog #3 is a ridiculous Katrina rescue puppy, a small wirehaired terrier mix that runs circles around the big girls. More on him later.

our dogs expand my heart constantly. this quote, by the Dalai Lama, on people, animals, and our big, happy planet:

the creatures that inhabit this earth--be they human beings or animals--are here to contribute, each in its own particular way, to the beauty and prosperity of the world.

warmheartedness

In October of 2007, Emory University in Atlanta welcomed the Dalai Lama as an Emory University presidential distinguished professor. My husband Doug and I went to see his wonderful lecture at Centennial Park. All day it threatened to rain, which was unfortunate because the program was outside in the park. Ultimately, the skies were ominously dark, but it didn't rain. His Holiness the Dalai Lama was truly charming. He spoke of "warmheartedness" as the way to cultivate inner peace and happiness, and then reflecting that spirit to the world to foster peace.

My awesome friend Barb gave me a page-a-day calendar of Insights from the Dalai Lama, with a new concept to consider every day. I'm saving so many of them and putting them in my journal. This one reminded me of his speech:

"It is quite simple: if you do not smile at people, but frown at them, they respond similarly, don't they? If you deal with other people in a very sincere, open way, they behave similarly. Everybody wants to have friends and does not want enemies. The proper way to create friends is to have a warm heart, not simply money or power."