A veterinarian had been called to examine a ten-year-old dog named Belker. The dog's owners and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker and were hoping for a miracle. The vet examined the dog and found he was dying. He told the family he couldn't do anything for him and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home. As they made arrangements, the parents of six-year-old Shane thought it would be good for him to observe the procedure. They felt as though he might learn something from the experience. The next day, the veterinarian felt the familiar catch in his throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time. He wondered if Shane understood what was happening. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped away peacefully. The little boy seemed to accept his pet's transition without any difficulty or confusion. They all sat together for a while wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why." Startled, they all turned to him. They were stunned as they heard the most comforting of explanations. "People are born so they can learn how to live a good life ...like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The six-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

Oh, if only all mankind could travel this road of life together with the heart of a child! Imagine the clarity, simplicity and peace we would experience. Perhaps it is that very longing throughout our life to return to the childlike state of peace and love for which we strive.

 

From the security and comfort of the womb we enter this world with the vision and heart of innocence and purity...bringing with us the stillness of God. As Meister Eckert wrote "There is a huge silence inside each of us that beckons us into itself, and the recovery of our own silence can begin to teach us the language of heaven...Nothing in all creation is so like God as stillness."

 

Yes, we are a work in progress; therefore, "learning to live a good life and trying to love everyone all the time and being nice" isn't all that simple. Perhaps it might be easier if we were to isolate ourselves. Yet we were created for each other, and that interaction itself is the key ingredient to our life lessons to be learned.

 

Whether it is a family member, friend, co-worker or someone who has inadvertently been thrown into our life, there will always be those who disrupt our lives with their chaos. Perhaps the simplest solution is to abolish them from our life refusing to deal with them. Yet they were placed there for a reason. They are an integral part of our lessons to be learned. Will we pass the test by exemplifying peace, or will we fail by allowing them to steal our peace? The optimum example we provide may be just the catalyst to lead them, as well as ourselves, to the stillness of God.

 

I like the analogy of the red slippers in the Wizard of Oz...Dorothy was protected by her goodness through the slippers. Thus whenever the witch tried to steal the slippers she was zapped. As such, we must protect ourselves, stay positive in the midst of chaos, and feed our mind and spirit with encouraging thoughts and caring individuals. Therefore, when we are faced with those who challenge our spirit, we must remain steadfast holding on to our peace.

 

Nevertheless our efforts at times will fail. There will be setbacks. There will be times when it appears we have failed to affect those with our love. There will be times when we fail to be the loving example we so strongly desire. Yet God knows the intentions of our hearts, picks us up and leads us to the next step toward attaining our goal.

 

Ironically in spite of our desire to do so, it is difficult to grasp the stillness of God as we approach this sacred holiday season. In the midst of decorating, parties, shopping and rushing about, these next four weeks of our lives are propelled into fast forward. Yet it is through those moments of stillness, those moments when we include God in our festivities that we witness the most precious of times in which the world around us appears to have learned life's greatest lesson. That is, a lesson so simply and clearly perceived through the innocence of a six-year-old child and the unconditional love of a dog.