Last Friday morning I hiked with a friend and our four dogs, and we had a wonderful time. Sunday morning I hiked with my boyfriend and my two dogs — another satisfying adventure. I don’t usually venture away from home on Mondays, but Riley had a vet appointment and we visited a favorite off-leash spot on our way to the clinic.
On this walk Monday morning — when it was just me, Zi, Riley, and a quiet spot in the woods — the contrast struck me and I recognized the profound peace of traveling exactly at my own pace with a fresh perspective.
Don’t get me wrong, there is massive value in going together — in having company, cultivating connection, and sharing experience. That’s why I do it, love it, and am ever so grateful for the people in my life. But going alone is its own delight.
I am grateful for this reminder at this particular moment because I hope to be raising a puppy soon, and perhaps there is no other time when agility handlers are more aware of everyone else’s pace. It’s legitimately difficult not to be pulled along. We’re so used to being pulled along, we might even forget what OUR pace feels like.
When I feel a little behind with my puppy, or perhaps a little diminished by an impressive video I saw on Facebook, I hope I’ll think of that gorgeous Spring morning in the woods and the satisfaction I gained from watching a fourteen year old dog sniff until he was really ready to move on. Of the pure pleasure that comes from not being in a hurry or on a timeline.
Because everything profoundly, exquisitely beautiful in my life has come from being aligned with MY core, and attuned to MY pace. And that’s what I wish to create again now. A relationship so robust and authentic it means more than any achievement, opinion, or comparison possibly could.
