Blog #543: They Don’t Know ALL the Words
I live with two little dogs that are
dreadfully fearful of things that go BOOM!
For them…
July 4th was the worst night…EVER!
Near Los Angles…
We just survived more fireworks and booms than I’ve ever seen or heard.
And although a million people celebrated…millions of pets didn’t.
Two of them belong to me.
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It was an extra rough night for my dogs.
Inside their little doggy heads…paralyzing fear, anxiety, trauma, terror and suffering snuck in and dominated.
For 10+ hours.
When the small firecracker pops started at 6:00 p.m….
The dogs instantly felt their safest haven was hiding in a dark bathroom with the doors closed. But as the night grew darker and noisier, the bathroom couldn’t keep out the booms…nor the uncontrollable rising chaos and fear.
At 8:00 p.m. when things started getting super boomy…
The two dogs desperately begged to have their hiding location upgraded. They scratched and whined to hide in the darkest corners of a wardrobe closet. Inside, they found hiding places that made them difficult to even find.
It wasn’t until 4:00 a.m on July 5th…
Two shaking fur buddies sensed that they could come out from closet hiding.
Their reality was the stuff of doggie nightmares.
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My dogs know lots of words.
But unfortunately, they don’t know…
“Don’t be afraid!”
“You’ll survive the BOOMS!”
“Don’t let fear rule your world!”
“What you’re thinking is irrational.”
They don’t understand any of that.
Good thing people are smarter.
Good thing people know ALL the words.
Right?
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Over my lifetime…
I’ve talked with hundreds of people afraid of the “BOOMS!”
People afraid to…
Take a cruise because the ship might sink.
Get on the plane because some have crashed.
Quit the terrible job because they might not find another.
Leave a depressing relationship because they’ll be alone if they do.
Go to the doctor for fear of what the Doc might say.
Invest because investing always loses money.
Go to a foreign country because they might get kidnapped.
Start college because their older age embarrasses them.
Learn the piano because the class is for young people.
Tell the person how they feel because they might get rejected.
Speak up because their opinion will be dismissed.
Try because it’s possible they’ll fail.
Fear.
It’s very real.
It can also be very irrational.
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I wish I had the magical gift to…
1. Explain the BOOMS! to my dogs so they’d understand.
2. Clear their thinking and wash away their fear.
3. Shine a light on their irrational puppy reasoning.
But they’re just dogs.
And they don’t know ALL the words.
But it’s a good thing you and I do.
EXTRA Thoughts…
#1:
Irrational fear has the power to turn a caterpillar into a snake…and one snake into four.
Be aware of what you let grow in your head.
#2:
If we’re hesitant to start, do, try or go…
it might be a good idea to ask ourselves: “Why?”
And then…ask if our “Because…” makes sense.
Here’s the audio version of this week’s blog.
Miss last week’s blog? Here’s the link:
Eatin’ the Cake
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Thank you for reading. I appreciate you.
I hope you #ClapForSomeone today.
With gratitude…
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