#115 - dogs and beach

i've been here at the beach for almost a week. me and three little chihuahuas. while it's been nice to be alone, i feel like i'm becoming a little crazy. the little guys are driving me up the walls. everytime i let them out to pee/poo they bark. maui runs around the whole house barking, at nothing. they were barking at a big black neighbor dog once, but other than that it's been nothing. it doesn't matter what time of day either. i can't control them. i let hector out today and he refused to come back into the house for half an hour. he ran circles around me as i tried to catch him. i tried bribing him with a treat, he took it and ran. it really frustrated me because i wanted to walk to the post office. i planned on doing it at a certain time so it was pissing me off. i guess today i am in a bad mood. i closed the door to this room so i could blog in peace. usually they are always around, especially maui. he is such a lap dog, if there is a lap he's in it.

yesterday was nice, we laid on the deck upstairs all day in the sun. i had a blanket out there and played music on the stereo. it was a gorgeous day and very relaxing. later on i took maui and sancho to the beach and we had a good time. it was perfect on the beach and they got all their energy out by running around on the beach with another dog. i need to go to the beach later today.

my friends are coming to hang out this weekend. i am excited because i haven't seen anyone i know in four days. i feel like tom hanks on that movie with wilson the volleyball. nutso. of course i can talk to the dogs but they just look at me like i'm crazy, which only makes me feel more crazy. i was thinking this would be a good time to read, plan my trip, workout, think, and practice. my friend at work and i were talking about being mindful. i am very not. i started trying to be mindful as i eat, as a first step. sit down, give thanks, take my time, enjoy each bite, just be there and let the food nourish me. nothing else going on but me eating. i've been eating almost every meal outside on the deck. it's nice to breathe the fresh ocean air and feel alive. i still eat too quickly. it's like i was raised with a dozen other kids/animals and need to eat the food before they do.

my next step is to be mindful of the moment. live in the moment and be present. i know this isn't achieved overnight, but it's an ongoing process. like everything else, it's gotta start somewhere. the beach is a very easy place to be mindful and so a good place to start. it involves all the senses: you look out and see the ocean and waves, feel the sand beneath your feet and wind on your face, smell the salt water and various dead animals on the beach, hear the waves crashing and kids playing and going to the beach always reminds me of my mom's korean chicken and musubis. so even if it's not hot and i'm not swimming, i can taste it. it's so easy to relax and enjoy everything about that moment. nothing makes me happier than being on a beach. life is good.

it's all those other times that being mindful becomes hard. come home to the craziness and the real world. i guess house/dog sitting is not really the real world but it's frustrating at times. other things i want to work on is being mindful of my actions, speech and thoughts. although there aren't many things i regret, a lot of things could have been done or said in a different way. also, why should i waste time with idle or negative thoughts/actions/speech? i should not. negativity only creates more of the same. i have still another week at the beach and then a trip to mexico and guatemala! life is good...if i could only get the dogs to cooperate and not bark so much.