We own a Human Dog named Spencer.  He is an eight year old, red, black, and white, 5 lb Papillion.  Oops, let me correct that statement, Spencer owns us.  We are at his beck and call, and do pretty much what he wants us to do, all the time….  Our lives are devoted to catering to him, to make sure his needs are met. 

For example, when we sit down to watch TV, he goes to his water and food dish in the other room and whimpers so we will come and tend to him.  We don’t know why he does this because most of the time there is ample food and water.  Nonetheless, it has become our TV watching routine.

In response to this behavior, my husband gets up, goes in and reassures Spencer that even though we are watching TV, he is still our number one priority. My husband then brings a small amount of dog food in to the TV room because he thinks that will make Spencer feel better.  Spencer has trained him very well…

Early on, my husband would try ignoring him when he did this, or call him into the room, but it did not work. Spencer would just whine until he got us to do what he wanted. Spencer has written the play, in this and many other situations, and we are his willing actors. 

Every now and then, we realize our behavior and we laugh.  Even though some of our non-dog loving friends think we are crazy, we continue because we love him so much. By the way, he does mind us when we give commands, for the most part. 

When I think about Spencer, my heart overflows with love. I am convinced that my love for him is more than the most love ever felt by anyone in the world.

Caring deeply for something outside of ourselves teaches us many things.  To me love is the most powerful and important. The love I have for Spencer allows me to both give love to someone else, and experience love internally as well.  Not only is feeling love a wonderful experience, numerous studies prove that love does, indeed, improve our heart health too. 

While feeling loved benefits our heart’s health, giving love does the same for our aging process. In his book, Love and Survival, the Scientific Basis for the Healing Power of Intimacy, Dean Ornish, M.D mentions a study involving more than 700 elderly adults.   Study results showed that the effects of aging were influenced more by the love and support they gave their social group, than what they received from it.

There are numerous other studies citing the benefits of experiencing love. For example, loving feelings can help protect against infectious diseases, improve your immune system, reduce your risk of getting sick and, make you a happier and healthier person. Love is a positive high frequency emotion, which can heal and help us overcome many obstacles in life.

It’s been proven that love is good for us.  If you currently have love in your live, take a few minutes to rejoice in it, and know that it is affecting you in positive ways.  If you feel that you could do with more love in your life there is good news.  You can always find ways to invite love into your life…

We can never have enough love in our lives, it’s the one thing in life we can not go over the top with.  The great news is that there are so many options for bringing more of it into our lives?  Ideas include, volunteering time and assistance in the service of others such as social service agencies, churches, with children and/or the elderly, volunteering at a pet shelter, adopting a pet, spending time with nieces, nephews, siblings, partner, friends and others.

My wish for you is that your life will be filled to overflowing with love you both give and receive.

In the spirit of love, health and giving to yourself and others, take a few moments to write about the following questions:

Where in your life are you experiencing love? Notice the feelings and allow yourself to fully experience and appreciate them.  Where in your life can you give love to others?  What can you do to bring more love into your life. Name three things you can do now. When will you begin?

Overflowing Love & Blessings to you, Patricia
 

Your comments & feedback are always welcome and encouraged.  For an appointment call 206-459-2898 or e-mail me at: patricia@integritylifecoach.com Home page http://www.integritylifecoach.com  Copyright© 2007 Patricia Eslava Vessey…All Rights Reserved