The Opportunity of Walking the dog

I have this dog who has lost the use of her legs. We have a wheelchair for her, which allows her to go for walks, but she is not as agile as she was and keeping her safe from cars is a concern. Now there is a dead-end, dirt road that I take the dogs on where I don't have to clean up after them, don't have to have them on leashes, don't have to worry about cars or other dogs and I can just enjoy the walk. The problem is, it's a two minute drive away, and I always moan and groan about loading them into the car, making sure I have the wheelchair, unloading them. The problem isn't that this takes very long- I can get them a good walk in fifteen minutes total- but rather the perceived effort compared to just striding out from the house.

It struck me the other day that this is exactly what happens in all aspects of my life. I moan and groan about the inconvenience of doing things well, convinced I don't have time.

But, as with walking the dogs, the extra effort pays off. My time walking the dogs has become my space for deep thinking, uninterrupted by the surface needs of watching out for cars.

Think of the difference it would make if I could apply this same logic to cooking, cleaning, or posting on Instagram, for crying out loud. Going the extra two minutes would be HUGE. More delicious food. A cleaner, more peaceful house. And, perhaps most pertinent to this space, an Instagram feed that gave more of myself and was of greater value to anyone following along, myself included.

So this is my intent going forward. To make my Instagram feed a useful object. A space for deep thinking. A beautiful walk. Nourishment. I find it all to easy to photograph something because others are also doing it. We are all spinning around each other, but this is the equivalent of walking dogs on a busy road and only being able to attend to the surfaces of things.

I want to walk my Instagram on a dead-end dirt road, where I can think clearly.

Hopefully this won't mean I post less. Hopefully this means what I post will have more value, both to myself and to you. Either way, it's a small nudge in what feels like the right direction.