Time To Rest

I was up with my dog, Jake, at 7 a.m. this morning as either I or my husband is every day.  Jake comes in and lays beside my bed, his tags chiming with each movement he makes as he patiently waits for me to roll out of bed.  He is wide awake and hungry.  I can feel his energy waiting to be released.  I open my eyes, and his are already glued to mine.  His paws are in position to bound out of the room into the kitchen.  Peeling the covers off of me, he is now already half way there.  I don't laugh out loud because I don't want to wake my family (if they haven't already woken from his galloping on the hardwood) but, I smile a wide grin.  He wags his tail, perks his ears and trips over my heals as I open the back shutters for him to look out to the back yard; his early morning entertainment.  This is his television; a screen filled with squirrels jumping from tree to tree, rabbits nibbling on plants in my flower beds, the leaves moving tirelessly with the wind.  I make the coffee and my breakfast, and then get the newspaper from the mailbox.  He hears the front door open and close; his queue to run to the kitchen knowing that he will now be fed.  He sits politely as I pour his food in his dish, add some water to the bowl and turn to face him.  He waits for me to say, "take it", and then lunges toward his reward.  After devouring the meal, he goes to the kitchen door and rings the bell hanging on the door knob with his nose.  It is time for his morning constitution and a run around the yard.  After his exercise, he comes inside, runs to the window for one last look, then jumps on to his couch and closes his eyes.  It is now time to rest.

I feel like it is now time for me to rest.  After two weeks of intense work closing my existing business, I am ready to lay down.  I should take a lesson from Jake.  Animals act and react by instinct and intuition.  "I have slept all night; I am awake; I want to play".  "I am tired; I am going to lay down".  People have created a need for constant movement and task completion.  We think in a paradigm of lists; what is next, "what should I get done today"?  I have decided to follow my instincts and shift my paradigm now.  It is time for me to consider, "what can I do that I want to do today"?  Today I am going to have some fun, and afterwards I will lay down beside my dog and rest.