As some of you know, I am the proud parent of a rescued chihuahua. Her name is Luna and we are absolutely in love with her. Luna has made the rounds being in and out of people’s homes – she is an older dog and is blind in one eye. We know that she was in a home where there was a “bad divorce”. I’m sure you can imagine what that means. I’m told she wasn’t abused but I’m sure she witnessed a lot of yelling and ugly behavior. Now she cowers and puts her tail between her legs when encountering new people. She is friendly and will warm up, but I can assure you she was not very thrilled to discover she was leaving her foster mom they day we adopted her. I get the impression that the husband in that situation was mean to her because almost three weeks later she is still not completely comfortable with Scott.

Luna has become very attached to me since that day though. She is very loving, cuddly, and when I’m with her she never leaves my side. She reminds me of my own traumas when I think of hers. There is no way of knowing what the future holds. It can get better.

We can hope, wish, pray, plan, but whatever will be will be. Often when things have been negative, traumatic, or just less than ideal for us we tend to get stuck into thinking that is how it will always be. But it doesn’t have to be that way. I knew that I wanted a small dog for quite a while. But I didn’t know I would find the perfect dog for me. I think of her as my furry little soul mate 🙂 And if dogs could think about the future, I’m she wouldn’t have known she was going to be lovingly spoiled by new parents at her age.  But she is. And we are happy to do it!

Have hope for today. As bleak as it may seem at times, we never know what will be there around the bend. I know that trying to be positive can seem fake and un-realistic at times. Try being neutral. Remember that part of mindfulness is being non-judgmental. Try getting out of the all-or-nothing thinking and remember there are often numerous possibilities.

Journal prompt: What are you hopeful about today? What are ways that you can balance looking forward to the future while remaining grounded in your present?