Discover Purpose, Passion, Presence, Prosperity with Author and Teacher Dr. Tina Ferguson

This morning, Rico and I took off for a walk. Heavenly comes to mind when I think of how it felt … maybe 70 degrees. Rain threatened to come in all day yesterday so this morning caught the wind and the chipper feel of rain.

So, picture this, me in my oversized baggy sweats – think slumpadinka for sure – and an old denim short-sleeved shirt. Not glamorous, but true. Beside me is this regal, 185 lb. gorgeous English Mastiff who is AFRAID of EVERYTHING! What is Rico afraid of? Cars, trucks, kids who are not calm, men, women, other dogs who are not calm, wood floors where he has slipped before, tile floors where he has slipped before, things that are not familiar, and the list goes on!

We hit the trail by our house and immediately were confronted by a DART bus picking up a disabled child for school, after maneuvering him along the path and quickly ducking down the side road, we came upon an intersection of about eight dogs. I turn him around and go right back where we came from. Then, we turn down another adjacent street to go back toward the greenbelt (it’s so pretty and especially on a day like this!), get across the bridge where he notices the bridge bobbling and stops – dead in his tracks – What? What’s that? Scooby comes to mind with the babbling voice.

We finally have a stretch of the sidewalk to ourselves when a petite – seriously, like five foot tall – woman begins walking behind us. Rico keeps looking back as if he’s wondering when she’s going to get us. Finally, I have enough of that, head up the hill (steep one at that) and start walking on a side road where we encounter a friendly gentleman who waves. As we draw closer, I can tell. He has that look in his eyes… that he wants to PET Rico. I know that look…I’ve seen it SO many times before. I mean, people are mesmerized by Rico’s sheer size and some are magnetically drawn to him. But this isn’t the morning. I don’t know if it is the density of the humid air or what but he was SOOOO much more afraid today. Sure enough, the man calls to him. Rico puts up his best show… oh no, you aren’t petting me. He even bristles his hair, which is not usual at all. I finally step in and urge the man to step away from the mastiff and I know what he was thinking… I’ve never seen one in person.

As we headed back the way we came – *again* – I thought about how much pleasure Rico misses out on because of his fears. I remember when he was younger how he loved to lap up the attention from kids at the park. But now… he’s grown neurotic and scared of seemingly everything except us. Good thing we are a calm crowd.

Then I thought of myself… what am I afraid of that I deny myself the pleasure and excitement of knowing? A few things came to mind…many I’ve addressed (can you believe it – I’m still here to tell the tale)… and today I’m going to embrace one more. How about you?

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