Think Small – advice from a mouse
July 6, 2010
think small
In the personal growth field, everyone is always touting us to ‘Think Big.’ But thinking big is overrated. Every now and then it’s a good idea to get low to the ground and think small for a bit. Let’s take the example of a little mouse.
A little mouse, what do I mean?
This week my niece sent me a picture of an adorable little mouse and it made me think about the beauty and benefits of the small side of life. In a world that is all about the gigantic proportions of big cars, mountainous buffet dinners and extra-large coffee drinks, thinking from the small side of life can be very beneficial.
Years ago I had a friend visit me from Italy. He had never been to America before and we took him to dinner. Afterwards he ordered coffee which was served in a a mug. As you know coffee in coffee (which is called caffe) is served in a tiny cup.
He took one look at the mug and shouted, “Madonna e’ una piscina,” which translates to, “My God, it’s a swimming pool.” He was absolutely astounded at the size of everything and he spent his entire vacation eating ‘big sandwiches’ and watching big cars drive by. He had a ball with the large side of American life.
While that was a fun experience for him, most of us need just the opposite. We can benefit from un-giganticizing our thinking. I just made up that word by the way!
So let’s take a look at how mouse-like behaviors might truly benefit us:
open up and trust
Mouse Tip #1 – as a small creature you can easily rest in the palm of someone’s hand. In human parlance this means that it’s good to let down your guard, be soft and open your belly to the world. Let all the burdens slip off your shoulders, open up and trust.
It’s good to rest in the palm of the world sometimes.
slow down and rest
Mouse Tip #2 – as a little mouse you can yawn a lot. In human terms this means that when you allow yourself to live like a little creature you can be in tune with your own natural rhythms. You may find you need a rest, a nap or just a short break. Take time to be like this little mouse and tune in.
It’s good to rest and slow down.
creative challenges
Mouse tip #3 – mice are creative above all else. Just watch how they store seeds, nuts and cheese in their little holes. They show us that you can have fun with life and creatively prepare for anything that life may bring you. You don’t need to be on guard about it, instead look forward to the obstacles and challenges that might come your way. It’s good to be prepared to roll creatively with life.
Be creative with life’s challenges and look forward to whatever life has to bring you.
So what do you think? Might it not be time to slow down, take some time to rest in the palm of the world and be prepared for the life to come?
Thanks to my niece Meredith and I hope you’ve enjoyed my little mouse story. I encourage you to think small and enjoy the benefits.
It’s Springtime, It’s Time To Talk About Kissing
April 15, 2010
Come on admit it. You feel it in the air. Springtime is a scent-ual time of year and it’s all around us, everywhere. It’s the time of year when I fantasize strolling the Champs Elysees’ in Paris, arm in arm with a romantic Frenchman…
and of course it’s the time of year to talk about kissing!
What makes this time of year so romantic? It’s the leaves, the trees, the colors, the smells and the warmth of it all. It’s the perfect time of year to perfect your kissing techniques, even if you don’t have a partner.
Don’t worry, you can use these same ideas on someone you just met. In fact, I’m heading off to Starbucks later today and I just might try it out then. (just kidding!)
But honestly, the “Art of Kissing” is a fine art and we should learn as much about it as we can. Years ago when I was writing romantic stories, I picked up this book and it is the sweetest book you’ll ever find of the art of kissing. It lists the following kisses to learn:
- The newest fads in French kissing (my Frenchman can teach me these)
- The Hollywood kiss (look out Brad Pitt, I may try it on you)
- The Smacking Kiss (hope I don’t hurt anybody)
- The Wet Kiss (Miss Sweetie’s good at this)
- The Triangle Kiss (my yoga may come in handy here)
- and my favorite kiss of all, the Lip-o-Suction!
and there are many more. You might want to stop reading this blog post right now and run to your nearest bookstore to get this book. How can you possibly wait to learn these kisses? You can’t. You just never know when you’ll need to pull one of these kisses out of your back pocket.
Say for example I am walking down the street and a handsome stranger is walking towards me. There is something fine and European about him – his clothing, his hair and definitely his shoes. You can always tell a European man by his shoes. They are the expensive leather kind.
He comes towards me and softly asks, “Excuse me Miss but can you tell me where a nearby coffee shop is?” His accent knocks you off your feet. Oh those romantic European accents.
You start to tell him that Starbucks is only 2 blocks away, when suddenly your eyes lock. He looks at you with the kind of wonder that people have when they are gazing at a statue by one of the great Italian masters. He sees you in all your beauty. You can feel it in your bones.
Then he says, “Please excuse me but I have this overwhelming urge to kiss you right now. I know we just met but…..this has never happened to me before.” You know what he is saying is true. You can feel it in your bones.
What do you do???
- do you run?
- scream for the police?
- or pull the art of kissing out of your purse and search for the most appropriate kiss for just such a moment???
I recommend number three. Watch this.
You sweetly say, “Oh I am so flattered. I would LOVE to kiss you. Please give me just a moment to freshen my lips.” Then you quickly fan through the “Art of Kissing” to find just right kiss.
You turn the page to the Butterfly Kiss. Ah, that must be the one.
Your trust y
our instincts and lean forward delicately to plant a big fat butterfly kiss right on his perfectly formed lips.
He faints instantly!
The next day you read a the story in the paper about a famous European count who came to visit relatives in Chestnut Hill (where I live) and was struck down by a romantic passionate kiss.
The count was taken to the local hospital but discharged immediately saying, “I have to find that woman!”
Now was all that worth it? The story, the kiss, the romance and the nice write up in the paper? Of course it was. This just goes to show you, that you never know when the fine art of kissing is going to come in handy!
I gotta go now. I’m off to Starbucks. I’m pretty sure my count is waiting for me. I’ll let you know what happens.
The Transformative Power of Stories for Children
February 17, 2010
Annie: This is a beautiful story sent to me by Mike Blackstone a friend, colleague and blog reader of mine. He told some stories to his children with truly magical results. This really invites us to realize the transformative power of story. Thanks for sharing Mike. It really opened my heart.
Mike: A month ago I was invited to a lecture that was to take place last Sunday afternoon. I had completely forgotten about this lecture until it popped back into my mind 25 minutes before it was to begin. Interestingly, I had spent some quality time with my two little boys that morning, had all my “chores” done, so I told my wife Maureen I was going.
When I got to the lecture, I found out the speaker was an “ageless wisdom” guy which I don’t know much about. His theme was “Unfolding the Soul’s Purpose,” and among many things, he talked a little about reincarnation and astrology. I enjoyed it.
When I got home, I did a little research on the internet about him and about some of his subjects. I came across one little tidbit in an online astrology chart about focusing on “raising one’s children well,” and that struck a little heart chord. Hmm, could be a bit of a life purpose in there?
A couple of hours later I had this impulse and decided to tell my 6 year-old a story, and base it on the concept that we had lived other lives together. I completely improvised it. Here is the gist:
We were young brothers (Native Americans) in the 1800s. Out on an exploratory adventure, we were attacked by a mountain lion. It took all of our wits (mostly his) to both come out of it alive. Later we were attacked by a she-bear when we accidentally stumbled upon her cubs. Again our wits, mostly his, saved the day.
Several times during the story he said, with his head cocked to one side and his eyes narrowed, “Dad, you’re making this up, aren’t you?” Of course I denied it saying that that’s what I “remember.” But each time he asked me to keep telling the story.
About an hour later, my 9 year-old, Elliot, comes into my office and asks, very intently, “What did you tell Euan?” I said, “Why are you asking?” He replied, “Well, Euan said you TOLD him something!” “Do you want me to tell you something, too?” “Yes.” So I told Elliot a story, completely improvised, that went like this.
We were neighbor kids in the tenements of New York City in the late 1920s—best buddies who lived about a block apart. One day we were hanging out in the neighborhood, but I was about a block away around the corner with a couple of the guys. I heard loud voices and we came around the corner to see what was going on.
“I saw you (Elliot) surrounded by four rough guys from another neighborhood, and one started threatening you that they were going to beat you up. That kid turned, looked at his buddies to smile, and as he turned his head back, your fist lashed out, caught him square in the nose and knocked him clean onto his back.
There was blood everywhere. The other three were about to set on you but saw me and the other guys, grabbed their fallen comrade and beat a hasty retreat. They never came back.”
When I was done, Elliot floored me by saying, “Thanks, Dad, for telling me that story. And you know the part I liked the best? I didn’t need you to save me.”
I was dumbfounded in some wonderful way. The next morning, as I was taking them to school, Elliot said, “Thanks again for telling me that story, Dad, I really liked it.” And I wondered again what that was all about. He had never thanked me before for telling a story.
A few nights later I was tucking the boys in bed, I told Euan another story where we were both bridge builders, but he was a bridge designer. Right at that moment he nodded his head deeply in some sort of agreement, and he saved my life on a bridge-building site during an earthquake. Remember, he was the skeptic.
This time HE thanked me for telling him that story.
When he nodded his head it was pretty funny because he’s lately been into wearing a blindfold to bed—the kind you get on an airplane. So, I’m right by his face, softly telling him the story, he’s wearing his blindfold, and he starts to nod in agreement when I get to the “bridge designer” part. It melted my heart.
There have been a few more stories since, and, with how much they seem to love them, there WILL be many more.
I am still digesting all this, but I find it amazing. A couple of clues I’m looking at—Euan (6yrs) loves to build things and is a Lego maniac. Elliot (9 yrs) loves everything about the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) and is determined to make his living as a pro wrestler.
Annie: Don’t you love this story? Sweet, simple ways to make a difference in the minds of children. Thanks Mike for sharing the transformative power of story.
Yours in always sharing the stories that matter,
Annie
Where Oh Where Does Fulfillment Really Live?
January 31, 2010
The mystics say that there are invisible realms, hidden dimensions to our Universe that cannot be seen, felt, tasted, touched or experienced with our five senses. So the question is – Where Oh Where Does True Fulfillment Really Live?
Years ago the love of my life had a dream about me in which he took me to the top of a very tall building. As we looked out from the top he said to me, “I’m going to take you to other beautiful worlds.”
Ironically the love of my life broke my heart, but I never forgot that dream and I’ve always wondered, Where are those other beautiful worlds? Maybe you wonder too?
Too often in our daily life we go about busily feeling the stress and urgency of our daily tasks and commitments. We have so many things that we want to do and we also want to make a difference in the world at the same time. Jeez, isn’t it enough just to do my job, tend my family etc., do I have to make a difference in the world too?
But the irony is that this is the very reason that we are here on earth – to make a difference and to create a better world. So what are we doing when we’re do darned busy and how do we find meaning and fulfillment in the midst of our busy lives?
One of the many amazing things that I discovered on the Creative Retreat process was where true fulfillment really lives. I spent my 42 days happily engaged in the process and woke up every day feeling a sense of deep meaning and purpose. How did that happen? Nothing really changed in my life from one week to the next, and yet somehow the mission of the retreat gave me a deep sense of fulfillment.
I was totally surprised by this. I had no idea.
It made me really think about how meaning and fulfillment are two of the biggest things missing from our busy modern lives and yet these two elements are the most crucial to life itself and what we are here to do.
Ironic isn’t it – that the thing we crave and need the most is the most elusive? It is not inside the busy freneticness of life, I can tell you that for sure.
Why mystics sat on mountaintops or went for 40 days in the desert is because they knew the mysteries of life and were dedicated to tapping them. We need to be dedicated too.
If we are to leave a better world – a world of meaning and fulfillment for others, then we need to be able to have the energy of inspiration whenever and wherever we need it. That is the basis of the Creative Retreat process and in the next few months I’m going to share with you the possibility of joining me on this journey of meaning and fulfillment.
I will be inviting 24 adventurous souls to try the process with me absolutely free. You will have the help and assistance of myself and my colleague who is creating the process with me. Together we are going to break the barriers to creating more fulfilling lives and meaningful work.
Want to join us? We’d love to have you! Please email me at: annie@anniehart.com to express your interest. Also if you’d like to listen to the kick-off Radio 42 Show, please feel free to listen.
You can meet my wonderful colleague and collaborator Ian Waddelow, a brilliant consultant from Europe. We are very fortunate to have Ian onboard.
Today take just a moment to stop, breathe and feel into these other beautiful worlds. They are right here all around you, all the time. You just need to stop, feel, look, listen and eat some good chocolate for them to appear out of the mist.
The mystics knew where true fulfillment really lives. We should follow their path.
Please join me every Friday for Radio 42 – the Meaning of Life, the Universe & Everything. It’s a fun, inspiring show that helps you change from the inside out.
Yours in that which brings greater meaning to life,
Annie
What the Mystics Say About Love, for Women
November 30, 2009
Have you ever felt down and out in the realm of love? I know I have. Either you have a partner and it’s just not always up to par. He doesn’t put the toilet seat down, he forgets to buy you flowers, he means well but you just don’t feel as appreciated or as you could.
Or you don’t have a partner at all and you’re wondering if you’re going to dry up and shrivel like a raisin or if you will ever find the love of your life. Sound familiar?
It seems either way we go in the realm of love and relationship, we just don’t feel satisfied. Why is that? Well the mystics say that the feminine essence is about the radiance of love itself. Boy that sounds nice doesn’t it! Why then don’t we feel like love’s radiance most of the time but instead feel like wrung out dishrags or under appreciated figurines that have been left on the shelf for too long? Ah, this is where it is up to us to create the circuitry that we need in order to feel whole.
Most of the time we are conditioned to think about what we’re getting. Where’s my flowers? Where’s my jewelry? Where are my hugs, my love, my everything? Where, where, where? It’s all about me. Now I know that as soon as I say this you are replying, “No all I do is give, give, give.” That may be true.
Many women give as a form of trying to get. I can hear you gasping in horror right now. I know we don’t believe that we are giving to get anything. We like to think it’s unconditional but just watch what happens if you cook an outstanding dinner for someone and no one comments on it. Try wearing a brand new outfit and see what happens if no one notices. You will notice just how quickly the feminine radiance has come to depend on external sources of feedback for her well being.
We plummet instantly right? You just got a new hair cut and how dare he not notice. You made an amazing dinner and he acted like it was a TV dinner. Underneath of our giving, we are often subtly trying (desperately) to receive love. Eek! That blows the cover right off of my nice idea of myself as such a generous, loving person.
I am generous and loving and I know you are too, but just see what could happen in terms of your personal fulfillment if you really sniff underneath most of your giving and realize – darn it all, I am trying to get something!
At first it feels awful to see this and admit it but after awhile it’s actually liberating. Liberating because we don’t have to be reliant on outside sources of love. We can truly give for the pleasure of sharing.
The mystics say that to find personal fulfillment we need to remove the dark outer shell that surrounds the seed of light. That dark outer shell for us women is our endless, incessant need for someone or something to fill and fulfill us. We are an empty vessel expecting others to fill us. This sets us up for nearly constant disappointment.
So today, think about how you can fill the vessel in other way, breathe into your own heart and feel it warm up. Then go out and share and notice if over time you can find more fulfillment and less disappointment. In being the Light of Love that we were meant to be, true fulfillment awaits.
Excuse me I gotta go do the dishes now! I know I know, it’s not glamorous, but maybe just maybe, some light is waiting for me right there in the sink! It’s everywhere. We just need to look.
Featured Story: An Unlikely Love Story
October 26, 2009
Want to feel your heart get warm as you witness true love right before your eyes? This is a most beautiful love story told in pictures. Thanks to my friend Patti for this touching story.
This is Suryia the orangutan and Roscoe the Blue Tick hound.
The orangutan was in a rescue mission, depressed and not doing well.
The old hound wandered in and the orangutan snapped to as if his buddy had arrived.
He stayed with the hound night and day until he was well.
In the whole scenario, the orangutan found a reason to live.
They are now inseparable, live at the Tigers sanctuary in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
AWWWW! It’s never too late to find true love.
Featured Story: Courage is in the Heart
October 18, 2009
Courage: from Anglo-French, coer heart. A quality of mind or spirit (heart) that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, without fear.
I had done a five day intensive retreat with twenty-five, Youth at Risk on the coast of England. The course had been an amazing experience for everyone and I had been invited back to England to give a one-day seminar on how to deal with difficult emotions, particularly anger.
Many of the youth had “anger issues,” a term I particularly dislike because it labels people in a negative direction and segments anger out of our everyday world. In reality anger is a powerful force that when used for good, can move mountains.
Working with these youth was a unique challenge for me. Their emotions were high on the scale of being out of control. My job was not to contain, suppress or make these emotions wrong, but to teach them how to channel them through the heart. No easy task.
But I came prepared with my Heartmath presentation which would show their real-time heart rhythms on a large screen . According to the Institute of Heartmath in California, the rhythm of our heart shows all of our physical and emotional stresses. Heartmath has innovated a technique that shifts the heart rhythm from stressed to ‘coherent’. The coherent wave of the heart is where we feel balanced, centered, strong, energized, loving and kind.
The youth, though normally distracted, were immediately intrigued by the presentation. They seemed mesmerized by the giant heart rhythms moving on the screen. I asked who wanted to volunteer to demonstrate working with their heart rhythm and right away Ronnie shot up his hand.
“Oh no, not him,” I thought to myself. Ronnie was the most difficult kid of the group. During the five day intensive he had been obstinate and angry. He insisted on doing everything his way and breaking the rules over and over again.
He was the one kid out of all of them, who didn’t seem to soften, even after the numerous breakthroughs that had helped everyone else. Ronnie would have been my last choice for a demonstration subject. But turning down a kid like this wouldn’t send a good message, so I invited him up front.
Ronnie was tough and I was pretty sure that they only reason he wanted to come up front was because he wanted to show off in front of everyone or prove my theory wrong. Neither of these options felt great to me.
I taught Ronnie to breathe into his heart area and generate a loving feeling towards someone or something. I was pretty sure that he was either making fun of me internally or resisting everything I was saying, but I kept on. I encouraged Ronnie to focus on someone that he loved or cared about.
He was quiet for about 4 minutes which was the longest I had ever heard him silent. As he focused, the group watched his heart rhythms change in real-time on the screen. They were changing from irregular and jagged to smooth and rounded waves, all signs that the technique was working. But I was still not convinced that any of this would make any difference with angry Ronnie.
After we finished the demo, I had asked him to sit back down with the group. But to my surprise, he didn’t want to. He wanted to continue to sit by the heart monitor. I thought that was odd, but rather than choosing to enforce my rule, I let him stay. I continued on with the demo’s for another half hour or so and then finished my presentation.
At the end of the day, I asked for any of the kids to stand up and share what they had gotten from the presentation. Ronnie jumped up immediately. He practically shouted, “I realized that I really do love my parents.” Apparently Ronnie had focused on them during his session. “and for the first time in my life I feel that something might actually help me with my anger.”
I was blown away and I started to tear up. I had known the power of the heart in my own life but had never experienced it in someone who was as hardened and angry as Ronnie. I never saw Ronnie again but his story has stayed with me. The image of him sitting by the heart monitor, gives me great hope for the youth of the world.
What Ronnie showed me is that underneath of the pain and hardness of anger is the tender vulnerability of deep caring. When we get hurt sometimes we come to believe that ‘love hurts’ but it is actually in the restoration of our caring, that we regain strength. Thank you Ronnie wherever you are for being a leader in the power of the heart. I hope to see you again someday.
The True Power of Vulnerability
October 14, 2009
Telling stories raw and real requires an open and vulnerable heart. That is not an easy thing especially in a culture that tells us we must be strong and where vulnerability is often seen more as a weakness than as a strength.
Years ago when I was doing Heartwork training in business settings. The men would almost always say to me, “I can’t use my more tender feelings because then I’ll lose my edge.” What they meant was that they believed that if they accessed any of the ‘softer’ feelings of the heart, than they would lose their masculine strength.
I was reminded of this the other day when I was having a very frustrating conversation with my colleague Jim. He is a great guy in every way but as he says himself, sometimes he’s thinking from ‘his man place’ and I feel like he can’t hear what I’m saying at all.
I was trying to tell him that telling these stories raw and real is very difficult. Even though I have been doing it for years, I am currently diving into stories that are harder to tell and I’m finding myself very challenged. I want to run away and hide in a cave rather than tell these more vulnerable stories! 
Jim was not getting my point. He kept trying to tell me that everyone loves hearing these kinds of stories. I assured him that they do not. He said that people love to hear how you’ve overcome a challenge. I agree. But what if you haven’t overcome the challenge? What if you never overcome it?
Let me give you the example of a client of mine whom I love. I have worked with her for many years through the ups and downs of her life. She has two wonderful children, one of whom has had a serious medical problem since birth.
Recently she was giving a talk at a conference and she was nervous about telling her stories. Her stories are very raw, real and personal to her. They are stories in which she she has struggled but not necessarily overcome. One of the biggest differences between stories of true vulnerability is that we don’t necessarily come out looking like a hero or heroine. This is what I realized after my conversation with Jim.
It is one thing to tell those stories in which we look big and strong. In our heroic culture, we are completely revered for that. But how about the stories in which we feel pitiful, small and woefully human? Are we able to tell these stories unadorned and still stand up tall?
Are we able to tell stories in which we don’t have all the answers, don’t have it all figured out and don’t have the solution? What about the tragedies that make absolutely no sense to us? Must we gussy up these stories just so they are fit to tell?
I encouraged my client to tell her stories raw and real and to put her focus on making a connection with the audience, rather than looking good. She liked that idea. She is a very genuine and loving person and she wanted to connect with people. It also took the pressure off of her to perform. She realized that she could just tell the stories from her own real human heart.
She came back today and reported great success. People really connected to her stories and she felt natural and comfortable telling them. “Annie,” she said, “I realize that I just need to keep opening up and sharing vulnerably.” That’s the key.
Our stories are our stories. The are precious, raw and real, just like our own human hearts.
And by the way, the men that I trained in Heartwork, always got a dose of the science of the heart. What they learned is that there is a whole body of scientific evidence that shows that the power of strength in the human body is generated from the qualities of love and care in the heart.
And my buddy Jim? He’ll get what I’m saying. He always does. As a matter of fact, I hear the phone ringing right now, that’s probably him….
So today dare to tell your story unadorned and trust the power of vulnerability to create true strength and connection.
Story of the Week, Little Dog, Big Love
August 2, 2009
I was not planning on getting a dog. I enjoyed travelling and being able to come and go as I pleased.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved dogs. I had always had one growing up, but in my adult years I was more of a cat person, probably because cats are more independent like me. I could leave them for days at a time and they would be fine without me. Not so with a dog.
But I went to Atlanta to visit some friends and while I was there, one of my friends showed me a picture of little spotted puppies, that someone had sent her. They were the cutest things I had ever seen.
My friend encouraged me to email the woman and ask about them but I told her in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t getting a dog. But my friend wrote down the email address anyway and said, “You never know.”
I’m not sure why, but I ended up emailing the woman. I thought that I was only going to find out what kind of puppies they were, nothing more than that. She emailed back saying they were miniature dachshunds. Yikes, I had always wanted a dachshund. I didn’t know they came in mini size and were spotted to boot. My resolve was going downhill fast.
We ended up having a phone conversation and she told me that she and her husband hadn’t wanted a dog either. But they fell in love with these little dogs and now they had 14 of them. In addition to the puppies they were trying to sell an older dog who was ten months old. They had wanted to breed her for her beautiful coloring, but she was too small.
I didn’t want an ‘older’ dog. In fact, I didn’t want a dog at all. But just to placate the woman, I told her to send me a photo. As you can imagine, once I saw this photo, I was a gonner. This was the cutest face I had ever seen.
I wondered if the woman had posed the dog this way just so I would find it impossible not to buy her?
But I clung on desperately to idea that I couldn’t have a dog with my single life. But even while I was telling myself that, I was printing out her photo and putting it up on my wall. Geez, she was cute.
This game of denial all came to a head the day that I just happened to meet two friends, both in the same day. Just by accident, I had scheduled a lunch meeting with my friend Dean and a dinner meeting with his wife Ginny. I never see both of them in one day so it was very synchronistic.
Over lunch I told Dean about the dog and he got very excited. “Oh that’s great that you’re getting a dog. Let me call Ginny and tell her to bring you our dog carrier so you can go pick her up.” I vigorously tried to tell Dean that I was NOT getting a dog but he was already on his cell phone calling Ginny. Oh well, I’d just have to tell her over dinner that she had brought the dog carrier for nothing.
When I met Ginny for dinner and she showed up with the puppy carrier, I proceeded to explain that I wasn’t getting a dog. But strangely, much like her husband, Ginny didn’t seem to hear me either. She went right on asking me what I was going to name the dog and she even had the audacity to tell me she didn’t like the name I chose. I ended up driving home with the dog carrier in the trunk and pondering a new name for this dog that I wasn’t going to get.
In a flash, I thought of the name Miss Sweetie, full name Sweetheart. I am Annie Hart and she would be Sweetie Heart. I got home and booked my plane flight. I was headed to Atlanta and retrieve her.
Upon seeing Miss Sweetie for the first time, I burst into tears. She was the tiniest, most precious dog I had ever seen. Thank God the dog owners didn’t laugh at me for crying so hard. I had never had this happen before.
Before I could take her away, she tried to cling to the owner’s leg.
But luckily we got out of there in one piece and Sweetie and I were on the plane home.
She was amazing on the ride home. I even took her out and sat her on my lap in the airport and she didn’t make a peep. I thought I had found the perfect dog. Little did I know that the quiet was not due to her manners, but that she was literally frozen with fear.
When I arrived home, a whole different dog unwravelled. Within a few days, I had come to the conclusion that I had bought the most anxious neurotic dog on the planet. What was I going to do?
I decided that she was going back where she came from. This was not what I had bargained for. I called the owners and left a message on their phone. “I’m sending the dog back. Something’s not right with her and I can’t handle it.” They never called me back.
Stay tuned for next week’s part two of Sweetie’s Healing Journey. If you’re a dog lover, write and tell me what you think of the story.
*author’s note – little dog insisted on lying in my lap and getting a belly rub, while I wrote this story :>)
Connect With Annie Hart
.png)
.png)