Tag: carpe diem

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3 Things I Learned from Otis

Otis, our lab/pit rescue, is named after Otis Redding. Or the elevator. Or a cabernet sauvignon. Choose the narrative that most appeals to you. He answers to Otis, and that’s important. Frankly, Otis answers to anything, so what’s in a name, after all?

He’s a noble pup, a good companion, albeit a bit clingy during a thunderstorm. He’s also pretty obedient though he barks at the neighbor too much. He also exudes great wisdom if you pay attention.

LOVE ABUNDANTLY

Otis just needs the hint of an invitation to jump into your lap if you’re watching tv. This is quite a feat for him, and dangerous for you. There’s not a lot of graceful movement in a 70 lb. dog when he wants to plop down in your lap and get in your personal space. When he finally settles down, I admit he’s a cozy companion.

Otis loves his humans with abandon and shows it as soon as he sees his friends. His favorite way of showing affection is to lean into you hard and then fall dramatically to the floor for a belly rub.

We should all greet our loved ones with such joy and affection. Hugs are great, but if you’re not a hugger, receiving friends with excitement lets them know you’re happy to see them and is always a winning ticket. Belly rubs might be out of the question — use your best judgment.

TAKE NAPS

This doesn’t need a lot of elaboration. Naps keep you fresh. They melt away crankiness. They while away the time, in case you’re bored.

Otis is a master of finding the one spot in the house where the sunbeams are warming the floor, and settling in for a long nap. He follows me outside every chance he gets, and if he isn’t running around the yard, he is usually splayed in the grass, soaking the sun’s rays.

If you haven’t tried this, I highly recommend it. I prefer a comfortable lounge chair, but there’s definitely something soothing about taking a nap in the sun. Don’t forget the sunscreen.

STOP AND SMELL THE FLOWERS CRABS

In fact, stop and smell everything. Taste life. Look for the beauty in the world around you. Otis is fascinated with everything — from the lovely flowers to the slinky slugs. He stops at everything to investigate, and rarely disturbs it.

This is my favorite lesson. The dog is pure joy and a model of contentment.

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little bluebird of happiness

I’ve been posting a lot of pictures lately. I’ve enjoyed the Daily Post picture challenge of the week, and then got excited about posting daily with a photo lent reflection. Both challenges have been fun, and they’ve made me look at things with an eye for the camera lens. Unfortunately, that default almost resulted in my missing a delightful scene this morning.

I was doing some cleaning up in the kitchen after my breakfast, and I happened to look through the small pass-through window above my sink and out through the large window in the next room. I have a perfect view of our garden which includes a birdbath at the end of a little path out to the yard. I noticed there was a lot of activity in the bird bath, so I grabbed my cup of coffee and stood at the window to watch for a moment.

A big fat bluebird was perched on the edge of the bird bath. I’d never seen bluebirds come so close to the house, so I stood for a moment watching closely to make sure it was, in fact, a bluebird. Sure enough, it was!

I got so excited! I have a running joke about bluebirds with a friend, and it was like a little gift — to think of her and send up a brief prayer of thanksgiving for our friendship. I was tempted to look for my camera to capture the bird.

And then I stopped myself. Did I really want to walk away from this delightful little moment? What if the bird left while I was looking for a camera or my phone?

WHY AM I LIVING MY LIFE IN CAPTURED PHOTO OPS INSTEAD OF LIVING IN THE MOMENT?

It took an effort to stay, but I’m so glad I did. I finished my cup of coffee while the bluebird repeatedly dunked iteself into the water. It was so sweet. Dive, pop up, shake the feathers, dive again.

I would have missed it if I hadn’t come to my senses.

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Tempus fugit, y’all

the offending clock
the offending clock

When the alarm went off on my phone this morning, digital bells obnoxiously loud, my darling husband mumbled the obvious, your alarm is going off.

Unfortunately for him, by the time I turned it off, he was awake enough to be annoyed, so he decided to take advantage of his wakeful state to complain about a clock in the living room. This clock has not worked in 30 years. Until now. Apparently, it has a very loud gong that can be heard in our bedroom. Who knew?

This is funny for two reasons. 1) We have a houseful of clocks, including a Black Forest Cuckoo Clock that is much louder than this one, and 2) not one clock in the house keeps proper time. Not. One.

I’d like to think this is part of some grand scheme to fool Time, but I know better than that.

The truth is that we’ve turned into accidental collectors. We have a marble mantle clock that belonged to John’s grandmother, a Pony Express clock that belonged to his father, the offending brass clock in the living room, a kitschy cuckoo clock and the real deal, and a clock that one of John’s pals made for me, assuming that I collected clocks. Well, I guess I do.

The startling thing about all those clocks is that they don’t keep time. More startling is that I am somehow OK with this. I mean – somewhere down the line you’d think I’d fix them or set them or wind them or whatever it is you’re supposed to do with a clock.

I guess. But really, this apathetic attitude probably comes from a fluid sense of time. Someone recently pointed out that my own sense of time is distorted. Apparently, and I own up to this, when I say “the other day” it could mean last Thursday. Or a Thursday sometime in 2007. Look. The latter is the other day…just another day a long time ago, right?

Perhaps this has something to do with recent events in my life that have me facing mortality (heh, heh, by recent I mean in 2009, when my husband was diagnosed with ALS, or for those of you who prefer recent to mean in the last month – my own troubles with high blood pressure). I don’t think so. Those clocks have been stuck in time for decades.

However, these recent events have had an impact on how I choose to spend my time. And that’s not something a clock can tell. Living in the moment is an art. It takes effort, and commitment. And lots of practice.

You could say that all those clocks in my house are stuck in time – stuck in the past. Or you could say they are a pregnant pause in the present. Waiting and capturing a moment.

Whatever. Maybe they are an indication that the owner has better things to do – perhaps she’s being present to the moments happening around her.

This sense of presence, however, is more than carpe diem. Yes, I want to seize the day – I get that every day is a gift and an opportunity, but there’s more to it than that. It speaks to the choices we make, and the consequences of those choices. I don’t want to be seizing my day in a selfish, hedonistic way that fritters away my life, or worse, ruins my afterlife.

Blessed Pope John Paul II once used a Polish proverb that brought home this point stunningly,

 Time flies, eternity waits.

Whoa. I guess eternity is going to be here a lot sooner than I expect. Those clocks I have scattered about are reminding me to be ready now because I won’t know the time.

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