A Moment of Peace

Small glimpses of peace

I went on a walk after lunch with my 5.5-month-old puppy, Kairi, today. Despite the rude icy winds that welcomed us as soon as we stepped out the door, it was our most perfect walk so far. She didn't pull once and walked at exactly my speed. We were in flow, man and dog, with my right hand feeding her endless kibble to convince her to stay by my side (part of her training to stop pulling altogether).

After a few minutes, the beauty of the moment struck me because it was the first time I could hear my "nicer" thoughts while on a walk with her. These days I'm usually too busy worrying that her reactivity will suddenly erupt. That I'll have to abruptly turn around, in the middle of an endless cacophony of barking, while apologizing to someone and hiding my face in shame, being judged for being a terrible dog owner.

These little moments don't seem like much, but in them, you can sometimes catch a glimpse of the future. Things suddenly don't feel so hopeless. Maybe my dog is capable of learning to walk peacefully. Maybe we'll be able to have normal walks, like every other dog owner in the world seems to be able to do.

Or maybe this is just how it'll be: chaos with brief moments where the bubble is pierced by peace, right before being engulfed once again.

But for today, at least, we shared this moment of peace.