I call him the local yoga master. He can contort his body in any number of ways, especially when it comes to food. His reach is quite profound actually. I am amazed to see his stretch, remembering how I once could do something like it. Ahh, youth. What happened?
We get older, for one. Not a bad thing, but it happens nevertheless. With Merlin, however, I find my yogi, my youth perhaps, even as I age. He is endlessly entertaining and profoundly loving. He puts me in another zone. A zone where the present is what it is about and love even more so.
Animals teach us about love every day. Just watch. They embrace the moment, one to the next, each of those moments infinitely precious. A bark for attention here, a lean for love there, a meow to remind us that there is more to life, like love.
Animals are mystics. In the course of the day, we are faced with many challenges involving our relationships, our finances, our jobs. But if we take a moment to watch our furry friends, like Merlin, we can perhaps remember there is more to our existence than those everyday worries that come and go with ultimately no consequence.
Merlin is a yoga master because everyday he teaches me to pause and breath and stretch. He teaches me that life is magical, in the garden, and with others. As he rolls on his back and begs for a rub, I am reminded again how much he gives me in the simple acts of his being. It is a lesson profoundly experienced because I need to hear the teachings of these furry masters who inately know that love expressed is love felt. It is a lesson that makes me want to be better than I was the day before. Not a bad lesson for a gardener and a dog lover.
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