Surrender

I’m currently working with a dog trainer for my dog Tilly. Moving to another country and culture having lived a pretty quiet life in rural Wales is an adjustment for us both and having some guidance and support so she feels safe and secure is super important for me.

We’re currently learning to sit and wait (whilst I’m close by and she can see me). Tilly finds it hard because she’s excitable and loves meeting people.

We are looking for her to surrender to the situation. To lie down, relax and chill. To trust that she’s OK, I’m still looking out for her and I’ll come back soon and give her a treat and lots of love.

It took an hour (with us going and rewarding every two minutes) for her to lie down the first time. This morning it took 6.5 minutes. She even made a new friend in the end called Edgar who gave her lots of love and attention because she was calm and didn’t bark at him like a banshee (her go to intro move).

There is something deeper here that I am reminded of whilst doing this training: that life is infinitely easier when we surrender and get into the flow of life, instead of resisting or complaining about it. When we are able to remember that we have not been forgotten, that we are loved and cared for, we can trust that if we just flow, we will be rewarded, and everything will be OK, even in the midst of a storm.