My Border Collie
I was reading through Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic the other evening and a line from this book stopped and made me think in a way only Liz can.
“Possessing a creative mind, after all, is something like having a border collie for a pet: It needs work, or else it will cause you an outrageous amount of trouble.”
Thanks for debunking my life’s trouble in one sentence, Liz.
It’s funny that these words grabbed me because this is my second time reading through Big Magic and I am just now catching on to the magnitude of this idea. Truly in the spirit of this book, Liz’s ideas are falling on me at a time in my life I can truly receive them.
I’ve been taking good care of my border collie lately and I have been feeling a steady sense of happiness that I don’t think I’ve felt since I was a kid. It’s not a crazy the crazy awe-inspiring feeling that I felt when walking along the river Ganges in India, but it’s the kind that makes me want to get up and live every morning.
Even the best parts of my life have been dotted with some intense sadness. I would be lying if I told you I never struggled to get out of bed or asked myself why I was on this earth during my time in India and Sri Lanka.
My life has not become better because it didn’t need to become better for me to finally be happy. This life of mine is beautiful and full of insane privilege and love. When I think of all I have it is like I have won the lottery.
What has changed though, is that I will finally admit to you that I am an immensely talented creative person. And more than that, I am allowing creativity into my life every day.
Each day I am walking this border collie and throwing the piece of wood it keeps dragging back to me. I am admitting to myself that my border collie is not an asshole, I was just treating it badly.
My border collie reminds me much of my own dog, Emma.
Emma is deeply in tune with all of my feelings. She can feel my sadness, happiness, and anger like they are feeling radiating from her own body. When I get in a period of sadness, she more than me wants me to feel better.
Just like that border collie, Emma never leaves me alone. She reminds me that she is there with a nudging by her wet nose or a scratch at my door.
She revels in moments of happiness with me by running around the house doing crazy growls or by rolling on a dryer sheet.
Much like my border collie, Emma can also be an asshole. She has chewed through pairs of my shoes and stolen raw pork chops off the table.
Why is Emma prone to such asshole behavior? Because of me. She has these outbursts when I have left her home too much or skipped her big walk or have shouted at her.