Dear Positive Habit People,

I hope you are all well this Monday morning.

Did you know that there is evidence to suggest that dog owners live longer? In a study by Uppsala University (Sweden), researchers demonstrated that dog ownership is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease in single households and with a reduced risk of cardiovascular and all-cause death in the general population. One of the reasons for this is that each time we see our dogs we release oxytocin, the love hormone that helps combat stress and disease.

I have a lovely dog called Rosie and as you can see from the picture above she is a King Charles, a breed I fell in love with because of ‘Lady’ in ‘Lady and the Tramp’ and it became my childhood dream to one day own such a beauty. After many years we finally took the brave step and got our own ‘Lady’!  My mother always said that having a child is easier than having a dog and I have to admit that there are days that I agree with her!

Anyway, I digress, apart from helping me to live longer, Rosie also taught me an important lesson this week.  Having not been groomed for several months (in order to keep her coat for the winter) poor Rosie was literally dragging herself along and her coat was getting so knotted it was hard to see where she began and where the fur ended. The solution? A much-needed full shampoo and haircut. Rosie emerged from the ‘salon’ a different dog bounding out of the groomers like a puppy full of endless energy. Although she is only four, in dog years that is 28 and yet there she was behaving like an excited toddler!

Rosie’s renewed energy got me thinking about what we may need to shed from ourselves. Are you carrying something that could be dragging you down, causing you to feel tired and lethargic? Now, while I’m not suggesting that the answer lies in changing yourself physically, a new haircut can certainly put a pep in your step!

One of the reasons we love our pets (particularly dogs) so much and why they help us to live longer is their ability to be present.  We feel safe and non-judged when we are with them. The mind, when it drifts to the past or the future, often finds problems and brings them into the present moment, creating unhappiness.

The difference between us and Rosie is that she is naturally and always easily present in the moment, she doesn’t have to work at it, she doesn’t do yoga or meditation, she is just always here and now. The plight of being human is that we can choose how to use our consciousness, something Rosie doesn’t have to bother with. Eckhart Tolle, in ‘The Power of Now’, and in his other works attempts to create a ‘new consciousness’  where we are always fully present, something that would go a long way to solving the many problems of living through the mind.

Rosie has long forgotten her shaggy coat because she lives in the eternal present unlike we humans who find it difficult to let go of pain or problems from the past. Now, I may envy Rosie’s natural ability to always be present, but I am doing my best to let go of the past, to trust the future and to live in the now. I sincerely suggest that you do the same – I’ll be here to help you on every mindful step of the way.

Have a lovely week and please watch The Positive Habit, Stress-Free, Anxiety-Free, week four video below. This video is part of a series on acceptance being the first and most crucial step to letting go of unnecessary negativity in your life. The feedback for the previous videos has been great and I am delighted that they are helping people to live more peacefully.