…exercise self-control…
—1 Corinthians 9.25
If I ever have another dog
I will name it Ego.
Keep it on a short leash.
Teach it to sit. Stay.
Not to bark at strangers,
chase every squirrel.
Train it to obey, not react,
out of loyalty, not hunger,
how not to jump in the fray,
add to the noise.
Not to mirror another’s energy,
but hold its own.
Teach it the patient wait,
the watching eye,
to be the gentle guide,
not the leash-jerker.
Well, I’ll not have another dog,
but I do have a critter within,
that I’m learning to teach.
Good boy. Good boy.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
February 10, 2021