Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven

Life's a country song, so they say.  Kenny Chesney sings:

"Everybody wants to go to heaven
Get their wings and fly around
Everybody want to go to heaven
But nobody want to go now"

Exactly right, everybody wants to go to Heaven but nobody wants to go now.  I've shared I am reading three books right now: one on sport's psychology, one on mental management and the other I'm actually listening to in the truck and it's about living life.  I found a quote I can not stop thinking on...."I love the journey as much as the destination."  Really, when I think about life, my last destination will be my coffin and I'd like to take as much time getting there as I can.  Better keep to the task of loving the journey!!!  In the past, I've lived destination to destination.....I'm working on building my "journey/process muscle memory".  

Last blog entry I misquoted so I will quote again and get it right.  It's really worthy of another look:

There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle. – Albert Einstein

I've had the opportunity to talk to many sheepdog handlers over the years and as I share about my longing for my scores and placements to not define me, my longing for finding the learning opportunities in each outing with each dog, my longing to find the miracles in each day....I hear how easy it is to cross the line into burnout when pushing towards a life where destination trumps journey.  I think in sheepdog trailing, it is different than say being an Olympic Athlete where a person only gets so many years to attempt being THE BEST.  With sheepdogs, each new dog that comes into our lives gives us the next shot at achieving our dreams.  Many of us have a number of dogs, each in different stages of competition which means our life of being competitive could be all the way to our end destination if we so choose and find a bit of good health along the way.  How do I find joy in the journey and not loose myself in the competition, caring about scores, when I compete weekend after weekend, year after year?

I've been asked to dig deep into the "why" am i sheepdog trialing. Really digging deep into the "why" is challenging. Every time I come up with an answer, I ask myself, "what else, why else?"    With much appreciation and gratitude to those who have helped mold me, my "why's" have changed, radically in the past few years.  My "why's" bring me joy now, instead of leaving lack; the why's bring me back to being true to myself and focusing on relationships.  i can rest in a run knowing I have put forth my best effort for the day and the process of the journey.

"After you have shifted your focus from “perfect” to “best,” ask yourself: “Did I get better today? Did I move another step towards my goal, my full potential?” ~ Beecham, Stan

I think Stan might have nailed me...."perfect"...oh how I long to be perfect.  As I let go of the idea of perfect, best feels so much more attainable and supportive of my journey.  Did i get better today?  Have I found things to work on to help me be better?  Baby steps to reaching my full potential.........I love the journey as much as I love the destination!

Seize the Day!