“THE
TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND DOGS” –
A
story about turning anger and fear into energy by focusing
on the joys of the “present moment,” by
Joy Bressette, M.A.
While
I was writing this book, my husband and I went on a
weeklong dogsledding trip in Alaska. It was with great
trepidation that I went; I wasn’t looking forward
to camping in Alaska in March, and I was concerned that
I might not have the strength and agility to control
my dog team and sled. The trip turned out to be much
worse than I had imagined. It looks so easy. You just
stand on the back of the sled and enjoy the scenery,
right? Wrong!
There
wasn’t much snow and we traveled along the Bering
Sea on arctic tundra. All those tussocks you see on
National Geographic shows are just as bumpy as
they look. Another challenge was the exuberant
energy of the dogs. Sled dogs are  natural
born “pullers” and require constant braking
to keep them in check. That is accomplished by
stepping on a metal bar with one foot and jamming it
into the snow/dirt, which supposedly slows down the
team. The other foot is balanced on a 2-inch wide
sled runner. So, there you are, balanced like
a stork on one leg, straining on the brake with the
other, and all the while, the tundra is bouncing both
you and your sled all over creation. Needless
to say, I was tossed off several times, and did you
know that sled dogs don’t stop when the rider
falls off? They just continue their mad dash down
the trail, dragging the tipped-over sled behind like
a wind-tossed leaf. The first time we stopped
to rest the dogs (what about a rest for ME?) my husband
came bounding up to my sled, his smile as wide as a
mile. He was having the time of his life.
I was ready to kill him. The whole trip was HIS
idea, it was HIS birthday present, and I was just keeping
him company! My anger and hostility were directed
toward him, and I was finding fault with everything
about the experience.
The
worst part was, we were only five miles into a 100 mile
expedition, and I would only be going farther away from
my starting point for the next two days before we could
turn around and head back. I was in deep trouble,
emotionally. I did NOT want to be there, yet I could
not quit. How do you quit in the middle of nowhere?
It had taken four flights to get to Nome and then another
one to a remote Eskimo village where our adventure began.
The group had to be self-sufficient, and if I said I
wanted to quit, everyone would have to turn around and
go back. I had to find some way to deal with my
fear and frustration.
I
decided that since I couldn’t change anything
about the situation except my attitude toward it, I
would grit my teeth and just stop dwelling on it. After
about five minutes my mind stopped its internal screaming
and gradually settled down. Ahah! I was gaining
mastery over my mind. This gave me room to move
away from being centered in my “thinking mind”
and look around at all the natural beauty surrounding
me. The sky was a gorgeous soft turquoise with
wispy clouds, and a bald eagle was circling above. The
Bering Sea was ice encrusted along the shoreline, but
was a rich, deep cobalt blue out in open water, and
we even spotted a mother and baby seal on an ice floe.
The terrain was hilly with crunchy snow covering most
of those pesky tussocks, and animal tracks were visible
in spots, reminding us that moose and lynx were nearby.
By being mindful, I allowed my heart to be momentarily
undefended, and I felt curiously at peace. My
heart opened to the beauty, to my husband, and to the
opportunity of being totally alive and healthy.
My anger was transformed into energy, and I felt a new
sense of accomplishment and inner strength. The
knowledge that the trip would not last forever gave
me courage to continue on. Like the Nike shoe ad says,
I decided to “Just do it!”
Copyright
© 2006 by Jocelyn Bressette
This
and many other stories are contained in a manuscript
that Joy created for her master’s degree thesis
at Atlantic University. She is actively seeking
publication options for her manuscript currently.
Thoughts, responses and ideas can be sent to Joy at
fuzzface2@aol.com
October 06
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