Puppy Power.
They’ve taken me over. Ever since I found this one live channel on YouTube, I’ve been taken hostage by the power of a cute nose, four paws and a tail that refuses to quit.
In short, a whole screen full of the mayhem, insanity and absolute raw, unbridled energy that is a Labrador puppy. Never has anything quite so cute been capable of so much unintentional destruction.
The feed comes from the Warrior Canine Connection, an organization that raises and trains service dogs for Veterans. I love the mission of this organization, and how one dog can touch as many as 60 lives for the better.
It’s magical to see these puppies from their birth to being ready to commence training. They are beyond cute, and knowing what they will accomplish in helping people just makes my heart sing.
And I just can’t stop watching. :)
There’s something about puppies that just make me go crazy, in a good way. I see those ears, and I just want to play with them. Their infectious enthusiasm makes me want to forget about everything and just jump into their playpen and go crazy with them.
Their kindness and general lack of cruel intent encourage me to let down the barriers that we humans have developed, and just allow myself to return to the innocent state of being a child.
And that’s where I think their magic comes from.
Because their vulnerability and their innocence trigger something within us; cutting through the pain and the scars of age and experience, and piercing our souls to release the truth of who we were, and hopefully in some way still are.
Kindness, enthusiasm, energy, playfulness. Fun.
And I think so many of us have lost that inside of ourselves. Worn down by a world that can be cruel on any day, and absolutely vicious on a bad day, we seem to have lost our ability to return to our childlike state, and exist in a world of wonder and joy.
The puppies seem to help me find a way back to that world, even though I don’t remember the way, and sometimes barely remember what it feels like.
So these puppies, who are being trained as service dogs, are already serving before they even know that it is they are about. They are leading me back to where I want to be.
Because in that state of wonder, I find the truth of who I am when all of my defenses are down. I remember that part of me that can accept another human being without requirement or judgment.
The part of me that is not scared to share anything and everything in the cause of helping another. The deep well of compassion and caring that can so easily be covered by a need to protect myself at all costs.
It’s where I need to return time after time, so that I can connect with my passion, my power and my purpose, and find the humbling thrill and joy of living in childlike wonder and peace.
All I have to do to find myself there, is follow the puppies.
Leading me home.
— Dr. Alan Barnes
@maddrbmusings