Are you familiar with a series of books titled, “This I Believe” ?  If you are not, give yourself a gift and find a copy in your local library, the bookstore or online.  It is a wonderful way of looking into someone’s heart.  This months Touched By Words has asked a young writer, Emilly Gaillard if she would open her heart and share what she believe’s in this blog.  She graciously said yes.

Her essay was shows a thoughtful understanding into a connection we may take for granted.  The family dog.  If your family is anything like my family and Emily’s family – a family dog is not just a pet.  But a valued member of the family.  They share our joys and our sorrows.  Yet Emily has captured more than just, “Sit, come, good boy, here’s a cookie.”  She has taken a long, careful look into her furry family members.  She has listened closely and has heard what they can teach their human pack members.

I hope you enjoy her belief’s as much as I.

This I Believe   by Emily Gaillard

I believe in dogs. It may be odd to deeply think about, but in reality dogs possess and exemplify the greatest possible trait any human could only wish to acquire.

The act of forgiveness is the most important concept throughout growing. Life is too short to hold on to grudges or express annoyance over things that don’t really matter. Once in a while, we all step on another person’s theoretical “tail” whether we mean to or not. Whether it’s cutting them off in traffic or texting at the movies, it’s difficult to do everything perfectly all the time. Forgiveness is a trait that proves maturity. As I grow I hope to adapt that trait, and practice it in my life every day.  I always feel so guilty when I accidently step on my dog or close his paw in the door. However, even if I stepped on his tail one hundred times, I can guarantee he would love me all the same. If I can put myself in someone else’s shoes more often, getting my “tail” stepped on might hurt a little less. What if that person who cut you off in traffic was on their way to the hospital? Instead of hanging up the phone right away or yelling at the individual on the other line to please stop calling, what if I reminded myself that the “annoying telemarketer” is trying to make an honest living, just like I will be in the future.

I’m sure people constantly get annoyed while driving behind me. I am a new inexperienced driver and I often drive extremely slow. When I’m older and get agitated by the slow driver in front of me, I hope to remember the days of adults beeping behind me and the feeling of nervousness that used to distract me from the fact that I was driving a moving vehicle. Life is all about paying it forward. Everything happens for a reason, and where you are every minute of your life is exactly where you are supposed to be. There are hundreds of stories that tell of a fussy child who took an unnecessary amount of time to get out of the car because he didn’t want to go to daycare; or someone using up five extra minutes in the house because her cell phone was no where to be found. Those little so called “annoyances” have put hundreds of people in the right place at the right time. That fussy kid or missing cell phone made someone 10 minutes late to work at the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001 or made an individual miss their train to the city that later derailed.

Dogs don’t have a place to be, a schedule to follow, or time commitments. Their primary job is to love their owner and their family. They don’t get annoyed when you forget to feed them or leave them out in the rain a little too long. They forgive for every mistake, and although their tiny brains may not understand it, they portray the universal concepts of unconditional love and forgiveness. It’s impossible to be perfect.

So, in the future, when I want to beep at someone on the highway or sigh extra loudly when the checkout boy at the grocery store messes up my credit card transaction, I hope to remember that I was once in their shoes, and maybe at one time or another, someone else has forgiven me too. I have stepped on plenty of tails while getting mine stepped on as well, and although it may seem detrimental at the moment, I am exactly where I am supposed to be at exactly the right time.