will my dog forgives me for hitting him I looked at every animal shelter and dog rescue around the Bay/East Bay Area in San Francisco and Oakland for 3 months before I found him. The day we met I knew this magnificent creature (a German German shepherd) was the boy for me. It was ’til death do us part. And that was a fact.
Will My Dog Forgives Me For Hitting Him
Bacchus was a purebred shepherd and the sweetest dog I’ve ever known. He never growled, nor did he ever bite. Although he looked formidable, he had no cause to be and therefore was not. He LOVED people and always slept with overnight guests if they allowed it (and usually they did). For more informative blogs visit boost monkey.
Anyone could get in my car or enter my home and be met with a warm greeting, wagging tail, tongue hanging out, and all that good stuff. For years I had big Halloween parties and you could find Bacchus laying in the middle of the dance floor or running around greeting everyone, enjoying the show, and getting into the groove.
The Meanness of Me
Bacchus is gone now, but I remember a time about 12 years ago like it was yesterday. It was the day I was mean to Bacchus will my dog forgives me for hitting him.
We lived out of town near Ojai in a cottage surrounded by lots of land. He had doggy friends next door and they came out to play before or at the break of dawn, way too early for my brain to register a new day.
The “owner” (silly term) of Bacchus’ doggy friend, Tim, was out and about himself and Bacchus loved him too. Every morning he awakened me at what seemed like before dawn with whining and barking that wouldn’t cease until I let him outside. He was so excited to see his friends.
The only problem was, Tim’s wife didn’t always want Bacchus to come out that early. I don’t quite remember why, something about grass or that sort of thing. So, I faced a dilemma. What to do?
Teaching Bacchus “A Lesson”
One morning I decided to teach Bacchus a lesson. I’d “break” him of the habit of whining and barking to go out every morning. I hooked him up to his leash and correction collar and every time he barked and whined (and believe me he could whine with the best of them when he wanted something).
I yanked on his collar and told him to lay down. Being the well-trained boy he was, he’d lie down, only to get back up a moment later and the whole scenario would re-play itself will my dog forgives me for hitting him.
In the meantime, being exhausted and beside myself, I became more pissed off. I yanked and made him lay down over and over, and began yelling at him in the process.
Finally, I gave in and left him out, probably because I came to my senses and felt horrible about my behavior. I’ll never forget him running outside and the diarrhea that followed. What caused it? Did he have to go to the bathroom the whole time or was it the trauma of what I’d just put him through? Or both? Any way I look at it, I’m not proud.
Why A Confession?
The purpose of my “confession” isn’t to seek outside forgiveness. It’s something more pressing that calls upon me to tell this story that I wish weren’t true.
It’s about my own meanness. I simply can’t pretend I don’t have meanness in me. Yet, it’s more than that. It’s about the meanness in we humans will my dog forgives me for hitting him?
If I turn my back on this part of myself, I’m choosing to fragment myself, and if I do that I lose my sense of wholeness. If you’re like me you yearn for wholeness with every fiber of your being.
I want to do the “right” thing, not right according to an external dictate but rather in the sense of what feels connected and loving will my dog forgives me for hitting him. I believe we have that capacity without an outside authority we fear being the motivating factor.
The Real Me And You
Although I’d love to believe that wasn’t “the real me” it was. After all, I love animals and children, and people for the most part. I’d like to think of myself as a “good” person will my dog forgives me for hitting him.
And I am. Yet, I’m also the person who was mean, cruel really, to my dog. I hurt his spirit.
The truth is, everything we do is the real us. When someone shows a side of themselves you haven’t seen, it’s not that it wasn’t the REAL them. It’s simply that you hadn’t yet observed this part of them. Believe it. Don’t fool yourself.
Life Is In Shades Of Gray
Last week I touched upon the sacred in an oh-so-irreverent way. Yet, I must ask this question:
How can we honor the sacred and bask in it if we pretend we’re only the ‘good’ parts?
Pia Mellody put it eloquently when she said: “Hug your demons or they’ll bite you in the ass” will my dog forgives me for hitting him. Life is filled with paradoxes and shades of gray, not black and white, and I’d like to think the sacred is as well.
In my worldview, there must be a place for questions for life is filled with mystery. I don’t trust anyone who sums life up in a heartbeat and serves it up like it’s all figured out. Usually, that person also attempts to tell me what to think and how to be will my dog forgives me for hitting him. I don’t believe the sacred texts of the various religions can be reduced to this without destroying their true essence.
I’d like to think there’s room for soul-searching questions. A space for seeking the truth through living in a soulful manner.
Soulfulness implies sitting with the totality of who we are, including the messy parts we’d rather not look at. The road less traveled, that of the individualistic seeker involves sitting with the uncomfortableness of knowing we don’t have answers for everything. And never will. The magnificent gift and wonderment of being human contain mystery – and a lot of it!
So, in the spirit of the totality of who we are here goes:
I’m generous, I’m selfish. Compassionate and warm, uncaring and cold. I love wholeheartedly and hate in flashes. I’ve hurt people who’ve loved me by being careless and self-centered (and probably will again though I try not to). I’m flexible and rigid. Wise and immature. Conscious and oblivious will my dog forgives me for hitting him.
I’m fiercely independent and self-sufficient sometimes to the point of not letting someone in, yet I long for love and union and can feel clingy and anxious about any perceived loss of love will my dog forgives me for hitting him. I’m strong and weak. Brave and fearful. I don’t always live up to my values. ANY OTHER STORY I TELL MYSELF IS A LIE. A FACADE.
There’s another reason I tell this story. It’s hard to trust someone when they pretend they don’t have a shadow side. And trust is important for it is the cornerstone of a “real” relationship.
Truth be told, it’s likely you’re all these things too.
To really take the full ride of life, to delve deep into the mystery of being in our bodies on this planet, there must be room for questions and a place for the acknowledgment of the underbelly of our humanness. The shadow, the negative side of humans, is not just out there, it’s in us will my dog forgives me for hitting him.
Maybe with this acknowledgment, we can choose compassion over and over again. When we’re fortunate, loved ones help us along on the path and give us reality checks. Best of all, friends love us for who we really are.
It’s really healing to be seen and loved all at once. We don’t heal in a vacuum, we heal in relationships and communities.
Bacchus And My Relationship
I can’t know how Bacchus perceived me after this event. I only know the love I felt for him ’til the day he died as I held him in my arms. He lived to the ripe old age of 14. Bacchus seemed like a happy boy and maintained a puppy-like essence until late into his life.
That’s not to say he wasn’t impacted and traumatized by the experience I’ve related here. Yet, somehow, as humans and other beings, we often manage to live through these experiences and love still abides. I believe there was love between us will my dog forgives me for hitting him. Did he ever really trust me after that? I can’t know. And that has to be okay. What is the benefit of compassion if reserved only for others?
Your Experience?
I’d love to hear from anyone who’d like to reflect upon the concepts of this post and/or share your personal experiences.
In spite of shortcomings, the hope is that you’ll choose to find the courage and forgiveness to open your hearts one more time, to bask in the arms of love. This is the purpose and intention of this site, and it is my sincere desire that you all may experience the best relationships ever
