Ella has been home for more than a week now. It's hard to believe that it was four weeks ago today that she went on her 18-day adventure. It's a little more than half the time I spent on the camino in Spain three years ago. On my right foot I have a tattoo that marks that time. On her right paw is a patch that I don't ever think will grow hair back. I blogged about my whole adventure -and hers from my perspective. Now that she's home I like to imagine all the adventures she might have had.
When Ella was gone, my house was really quiet. No dog softly snoring. No dog barking at the mailman. No dog following me around the house. The object of my daily love and affection - as canine as she might be - was missing.
I could have given up on finding her. I think many people do. But through the whole ordeal I knew I had to listen to the love in my heart, and not to the fear. Both were there for sure, but I made a choice to follow love.
This may sound corny to some, but I think the internal battle that leads one to either follow love or to follow fear, is a very real one. This, being just one of the lessons I learned in that 18 days, helped me shed light on so many other things that I hadn't been able to understand. Some I still don't. But there's something there in that fear vs. love argument....
Not only during the time Ella was missing but since she's come back, I'm sorry to say that I've learned that several of my friends have been going through their own hard times. If it weren't for me sharing as much as I did about the Ella ordeal, I don't know if they would have felt they could share with me and others. I'm thankful that they have. And in all of their situationsI'm rooting for them to win, rooting for love to win, and rooting for their happy endings. Because all of those things CAN happen.
Here here, GG. You showed us all that sad stories need not have sad endings.
Posted by: David | September 10, 2009 at 08:45 PM