My Wabi-Sabi Master is My Dog

Written by Galina Pembroke


Continued from page 1
As I struggle to appreciaterepparttar beauty of decay, Tucker is my faithful wabi-sabi master. Tucker and I are running barefoot throughrepparttar 125639 soft sands of my hometown’s ocean beach. The night air feels clean and cool. I stop often, dislodgingrepparttar 125640 golden-grains from between my blue-painted-toes while searching for a stick. I throw Tucker a three-foot long mini-log, and he returns it as a six-inch frayed twig. He will not surrender it. I hoist and parade another mini-log. He ignores me. He is mesmerized byrepparttar 125641 twig. He hasrepparttar 125642 perfect chew toy. Marred. Scarred. Semi-hard. Its decay proves to be its strength. It isrepparttar 125643 perfect Tucker stick toy in all its dwindling six-inch glory. I too have a habit of chewing my environment. Pens and pencils are particularly attractive when I'm struggling with a new challenge. Inrepparttar 125644 past, I would discard my teeth-indented creative tools”. But Tucker has taught merepparttar 125645 value of fractured belongings. Now when I look atrepparttar 125646 mangled implements of my creative struggles, I see their scars as battle wounds, each one a testament torepparttar 125647 origin of a thought. I keep and respect them.

Everything is Enough

As Plato suggested true perfection is always an ideal, never a reality. Consider "the perfect egg." There are so many variables beyondrepparttar 125648 cook's control:repparttar 125649 stove-top temperature,repparttar 125650 accuracy ofrepparttar 125651 timer,repparttar 125652 needy neighbors relentless ringing (I love alliteration) atrepparttar 125653 door. Even if you do achieverepparttar 125654 ideal creamy softness or just-hard-enough suppleness,repparttar 125655 egg still won't taste just right if you're queasy over being dumped, fired, or otherwise jarred byrepparttar 125656 outside world. Ultimately,repparttar 125657 perfect egg is an inside job.

Asrepparttar 125658 Tao Te Ching it states “If you mold a cup you have to make it hollow: it isrepparttar 125659 emptiness within that makes it useful.” Westernized society tends to see holes as absences, instead of potential. Every day we suffer disappointments, because reality - like some mangled chew toy or overboiled egg - falls short of our ideals. Yet those rows of hard bitten pencils bear witness to our best efforts. We have given it our best shot. Like Tucker, all we need do now to find wabi-sabi contentment is to stretch out on our war-torn blankets and delight in what we have.

Galina Pembroke is an internationally published writer who specializes in health, self-help and spirituality. She is publisher and editor-in-chief of New View magazine online. Launched March 6, 2005, New View is a comprehensive resource that offers information and inspiration for a happier, healthier life. Visit them at http://www.nuvunow.ca


How To Housebreak Your Dog...Even If It's Still A Puppy.

Written by Jake Berlin


Continued from page 1

When you see your puppy givingrepparttar signal that it is about to go potty indoors you need to say to it with a firm voice “NO!” In addition, you will need to establish one word or phrase that will be used to makerepparttar 125638 outside association. For instance, when you notice your puppy givingrepparttar 125639 signal, say “no”. Then, use your command, which could be something like “Let’s go potty” or “Potty time”.

With that, pickrepparttar 125640 puppy up and take it outdoors. Soon, your puppy will begin to respond to that command and know what it means. Sometimes a puppy gets outdoors and forgets about going potty. After all, there are squirrels to chase, leaves to sniff, and flowers to investigate. To help your puppy concentrate onrepparttar 125641 reason for being outside at that moment, you will need another command.

In this case, you could use words like, “Go potty” or “Do your business.” For quick and complete success, make sure that every time your puppy goes outside,repparttar 125642 same command is used. This consistency is establishingrepparttar 125643 appropriate behavior. While it will take you hundreds of times before your puppy gets it, with persistence and patience, you puppy will catch on. After your puppy finishes going potty, provide lots of praise. Supervision Another key to successful housebreaking a puppy is making sure you supervise it at all times. While this can be challenging, at first when your puppy is very small, keep it in sight. This way, your puppy will not haverepparttar 125644 opportunity to sneak off to potty in other rooms ofrepparttar 125645 house. If necessary, you can set up a baby or doggie playpen if you are busy. For example, while cooking dinner, you can use baby gates to keeprepparttar 125646 puppy inrepparttar 125647 same room with you or while taking a bath, placerepparttar 125648 puppy inrepparttar 125649 crate or playpen. Remember, this is only temporary. Indoor Accidents Your puppy will have accidents indoors so expect it. The key is to catchrepparttar 125650 puppy inrepparttar 125651 act. As an example, if you have stepped out ofrepparttar 125652 room only to come back a few minutes later to find a wet spot onrepparttar 125653 floor, correcting at that time is useless. Whatever you do, NEVER rub your dog’s nose in its potty. Not only is this unhealthy, it is demeaning and guaranteed not to accomplish a thing.

Since puppies often forget quickly, punishing five minutes afterrepparttar 125654 fact only confusesrepparttar 125655 puppy, which can create an entire new array of problems. Remember, you want your puppy to trust you so it has to understandrepparttar 125656 punishment. If you do find a wet spot, use hot soapy water or carpet cleaner specialized for puppy accidents, cleaningrepparttar 125657 area thoroughly. Then, sprinkle or spray on a neutralizing deodorant. Although you can buy a number of products onrepparttar 125658 market, a mixture of 50/50 vinegar and water works quite well. Physical Problems On rare occasion, puppies can have some type of physical problem that inhibits them from being potty trained. Problems such as bladder infection or behavioral issues caused by stress are common causes for a puppy being slow inrepparttar 125659 potty training department. Therefore, if it seems that your puppy is having trouble going potty outdoors, keep an eye onrepparttar 125660 situation. Ifrepparttar 125661 problem continues, have it checked by your veterinarian.

One other consideration is that dogs that have not yet been spayed or neutered have a higher probability of going inside. With potty training, it is not an overnight fix. Puppies take tremendous time and responsibility to train. The good news is that oncerepparttar 125662 training is complete, you have an amazing friend for many years to come.

Jake Berlin is the webmaster of Easy-Dog-Training.com, where you can learn how to put an end to the stress and annoyance of your dog's behavior problems...And slash your dog obedience training time in half by using techniques that give you immediate results!!


    <Back to Page 1
 
ImproveHomeLife.com © 2005
Terms of Use