I Miss My Dog...

Currently over 11,000 miles away and probably sleeping as she so often does, my dog, Jess, is the thing that I miss most in this whole world.

I used to really dislike her as a puppy. She was wild, she was annoying and when we used to play around she'd ruin any garment of clothing she could get her teeth into. But the older she got, the older I got – and we both changed. I was 16 when my dog came into my house as an 8 week old puppy and over the past 12 years it feels like we have both matured together. I was a kid, I wasn't an angry teenager, but I had my grumpy days and for the first time in my life I was starting to think for myself. I began learning to question authority, whether from teachers, police or religion and more than that I began to question society and it's rules. Over the years I have chilled out; I still question authority and if abused I will pull anyone up on it and I still very much like to speak my opinion and I find that my dog has done the exact same thing.

I used to have staring contests with my Jess. I'd stare into her eyes with great intent as she would casually glance into mine before, occasionally, looking around the room out of boredom and I'd always question what was going through her mind. How can you not envy a creature that holds no grudges; that still shows you love if you just hurt it by accident; that always wants to be by your side having some part of their body make contact with some part of your body; and that always remains you best friend even if you're pissed off with the world and everything in it.

I wonder what my dog thinks when she stands outside gazing off into the distance: does she have logical thoughts; can she solve intricate conundrums and arguments; does her superior sense of smell tell her things about this world that we never thought possible; are the physics of the earth, which we struggle to get our heads around, something that is second nature to her; does she have extra senses which answer questions that we have long since pondered about life and that as we know it. It would make sense that only an animal so worldly and so knowledgeable would be so content with sleeping lots and generally walking by the side of your best friend doing nothing all day.

They say simple things please simple minds, but maybe the simple minds are too busy over obsessing with the complex things in life to stand and appreciate the simple things. I maintain that the complex mind understands the complex things in life and understands it's the simple things in life that gives you pleasure, therefore hold the simple things closest to them.

Maybe that's why Jess enjoys going for walks so much; why she rejoices every time we come back into the house, regardless of whether we've been away 5 minutes or 5 hours; maybe it's why she appreciates something as simple as making physical contact with the ones you love; and maybe that's why she doesn't hold grudges if I lock her out of the room, forget that she's outside or step on her tail...because at the end of the day, these are all just trivial issues.

We look down on all other creatures, as if we are the superior ones, but I've had my dog for 12 years now and if you ask me, she's got this life down to a tee. Imagine what we'd discover if only we stopped obsessing about the superficial, petty things in life and just concentrated on the things that matter: the ones we love...our friends and family.

All this came about, simply because, I miss Jess.

A Leap Of Faith...

Why does the term 'Leap of faith' mean to jump blindly into something?
I Grant you that faith is blind. Faith is something you need to have in something else when it claims to be true yet cannot provide any evidence...but that doesn't mean faith is something you obtain with no prior knowledge. Faith, with all due respect, is the most educated guess you can make. When we think of faith, we usually think of God. People chose to believe in God - people chose to have faith in God - when they can accept the things they've been told through the scriptures. There's nothing written in the scriptures that provide cold hard facts to anyone, but there are a lot of things that are hard to believe. Yet people chose, not to overlook those facts, but to see them as a test of their faith in that almighty being. That being that is so much greater than themselves that he can make these seemingly impossible things realistic. It takes a great deal of faith to believe that there is a God(s), but that's not a decision any believer ever takes lightly, blindly, or without education.
Love is also something that needs a great deal of faith. Love is very similar to believing in God, nobody can prove it exists (sure, Doctors can say different parts of the brain is stimulated when a person is in love), but the only person who knows it exists is the person who is in love. Just like the person who believes in God, they just know he exists...they don't need the scientific proof. And it's with this inner-proof that they jump with both feet deep into the faith, which holds them securely and strongly, like the embrace of a parent comforting a scared child.
These people - the ones who have faith, in whatever it is - are the luckiest people in this world. They have an inner knowledge, something that fills the hole that exists in everyone's heart until that day they find love, or realise they have God in their life. There are so many other forms of faith, but when you have it in such an all-encompassing manner, that is a person gifted with something special
Personally, I am too confused and not intelligent enough to figure out what's the deal with higher beings, deities and other such things on that level; And love? I've either never been lucky enough or never been brave enough to find this, but I always hope to myself that it would never stop me taking that leap of faith. And if you're out there in the same shoes as me, whether you make your educated guess with your heart or with your mind, just remember to do one thing:
Leap with both feet!