“Come on Deputy”, I say to my beloved dog Ruffus, ” Please Don’t Eat the Daisies”. This sends me bursting into giggles, all alone on the top of our mountain, because after all who would want to eat daisies and who calls their dog “Deputy” when their dog’s name is Ruffus? So along we go me whistling and singing and smiling and Ruffus eating and sniffing.
Ruffus and I love adventures. When I think of the way it feels to me, it is like a combo of Andy Griffith of Mayberry (thus the Deputy) Tom Sawyer, and Nancy Drew, so a sense of adventure, mystery, and play all mixed up into a ridiculous pleasure.
I call Ruffus, Deputy because he has discovered all manner of things on our adventures. Let me tell you the highlights. A newborn calf on the beach in Cabarete ( stuck in the dunes), a lost dog named Bobby( we found the owner), a dying dog named Rose( we nursed her back to health), a baby bear climbing a tree( we ran for our lives) a baby raccoon hiding under rubble, a gopher hole ( yes the gopher appeared) But wait, I forgot to tell you an amazing one! One day a large mother pig and nine of her babies waddled down the beach, Ruffus looked shocked that day! When Ruffus first came to Canada from being abandoned on the beach in Cabarete, he made lots of discoveries. Two that really impressed him were the large green bins collecting organic waste ( he barked at them within an inch of their lives) and balloons, yep balloons were a real mystery to Deputy.
So as we go along our daisy and raspberry-strewn path, Deputy suddenly slows down and starts growling at a lump in the path 40 feet ahead of us. Lord only knows what he has found now, I think to myself. He slows down and walks right next to me, I like to think he is protecting me, but it could easily be that he wants protection. I quickly rule out a dead deer ( we have done that before), my mind goes to a curled up boa constrictor, seconds before panic sets in on that one, I remember we don’t actually have boa constrictors here in Quebec ( in Malls in Louisiana but not here in the Laurentians.) So with Ruffus/ Deputy glued to my hip growling at the lump we proceed cautiously. Finally, the discovery is made, a makeshift fire pit!!!! “Well, that was much to do about nothing Deputy,” as I check that the fire is out as Smoky Bear taught me, and wondering about the placement of the firepit in the middle of the path!
Deputy was by now off to the look-off tower, to see what else he could see. I was back to my whistling and singing a little song that I made up when one…. two… three wild turkeys shoot off ahead of me, making a noise that in fact did not sound like gobble gobble to me. Close behind was my whitish-furred Deputy, on the turkey case or chase. I briefly wondered what a close encounter could mean for the turkeys or Ruffus, but determined that was not a high-quality thought at that particular moment. So I settled into the clearing, wondering about how many raspberries it would take to make jam and so darn happy to be enjoying the afternoon with the Deputy.
The swishing in the forest told me Deputy was done with the turkey chase and so as he appeared in the clearing we headed back to the path. Ruffus sniffing, me whistling and both of us smiling.
And I thought to myself, man oh man do I ever love my dog.
You may well be wondering what this has to do with Life Coaching??? It is about pleasure. When we Start Living our lives the way we want them to be, PLEASURE becomes such an important part of each day. When I say pleasure I mean the feeling of it! I am not necessarily talking about spending lots of time or money either. ( I am not against spending lots of time or money on pleasure BTW, I am just sayin doesn’t have to cost a lot)I am talking about what makes your heart sing? What makes you smile? What makes you giggle? If you don’t know, have fun looking for pleasure. What gave you pleasure when you were a kid, that can give you hints for the present moment.
What I can tell you for sure, is that when we put pleasure into our lives intentionally, whatever that is for you, we stop engaging in behaviors that hurt us. Like over drinking, overeating, oversleeping, over scrolling, or over anythinging if that is a word. By putting real pleasure into our lives we stop depending on other habits as a source of pleasure and get our pleasure in a more balanced way.
So if you have thoughts like ” I deserve this…… let’s say an extra piece of cake… try asking yourself what are you thinking you deserve? Is it pleasure? What else could give you pleasure? It might not be hunting for mysterious lumps in the forest with your dog, but what could it be for you?
Here is a little Pleasure challenge
1. Make a list of five things that bring you true pleasure.
Mine would look something like this:
- Play with Ruffus
- Play with Corey( our one year old kitten)
- Talk to a friend, daughter, Mom on the phone)
- Read an awesome book
- Watch tennis
2. Put at least one in your day for one week. Put it in your calendar, like anything else that is important. And do it! Consider it on ” your to-do list” Do not skip it. Nothing is more important!
3. Notice when you reach for a drink, food, a FB scroll, an Amazon shopping and ask yourself. Are you looking for pleasure? If yes refer to your Pleasure list. and do it!!!!!
I promise you a little pleasure goes a long way to creating the life you want!
Susy Giddy is a Certified Life Coach. She is devoted to helping people live their best lives. She can be reached at susy@cabaretelifecoaching for questions, or to book Life Coaching sessions
