Bare with me here as I explain something that’s personal and specific to me yet hopefully relatable once I draw parallels between my own example and my findings.
It’s no secret I’m wildly infatuated with my dog, Rosie. If you know me personally (even if you don’t know me that well and follow me on any social media platform), you know she is at the center of all that I love. Blatantly speaking, she is one of, if not the best thing, that has ever happened to me.
Before Rosie became apart of my family, I was a generally happy person. I had low moments and pitfalls as does everyone, but on the whole, I was living a happy life. Certainly there were areas I wanted to improve upon and goals I wanted to reach, but I also would have labeled the years leading up to Rosie’s arrival as “good” ones.
The moment I met Rosie, I knew I was never going to be the same. I had instant love for her, and I had a funny feeling she was going to change my life forever. I look back on the day I came home for winter break during my sophomore year of college. She was underneath the big, red chest in my kitchen. I kneeled down to scoop her into my arms, and the second I saw how tiny and fragile she was, my heart swelled.
That little English Bulldog stole my heart. There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s made me a better person. I won’t detail all the reasons why (some of them are laid out in an earlier blog post of mine titled “Life Lessons from an English Bulldog”). I just want you to know she has.
A few years ago, I remember thinking to myself, “It’s nice knowing I once lived without Rosie. I was happy for the most part, but then this beautiful ball of insane love came into my life. After that, I loved everything about being alive ten times more.”
I say all this because I had no idea how much beauty and love was waiting for me. I had no idea what I was missing out on until I had it. I would have never imagined I’d love an animal nearly as much as I love Rosie. To be honest, I’m still not really an animal person. I am way more inclined to like animals now that I have Rosie, but I wouldn’t categorize myself as an “animal lover”. So, the fact that I love a dog as much as I do still blows my mind.
You have to stop and think about this for a second.
There are people, places, jobs, events, books, food, hobbies, and so much more waiting for you in the future. Yes, you should love what you have in this moment. You should celebrate where you are and what’s happening in your life right now. But you also have no idea what’s planted on your path up ahead that will surprise you in so many wonderful ways.
I look back at my life before Rosie and think, “I had no idea what was in store for me.” And that’s not a bad thing. That’s a great thing. Because if you can love what you have, be happy about where you are, and enjoy your moments now, you will only fall more into love with life when something amazing lands in your lap.
The other great thing about all of this is that the universe does not run out of favors. You don’t get one good thing and then you’ve exhausted all that you deserve. You will keep running into beauty at every point in the future. It might not be loud, in-your-face love. It might be subtle. It might be hidden to test if you’re actually present enough to appreciate what’s not demanding of your full attention. But it is there. I can promise you that.
So, it doesn’t matter at all if you completely scratch my Rosie reference and put something more personal for you in its place. What matters is that you know how many beautiful surprises are apart of your future. That is such an exciting realization, in my opinion.
If you’ve bared with me thus far, I pray you are open to seeing what’s in store for you, no matter how big or small that may be. I pray you appreciate your present and know that love, in any shape or form, is patiently sitting idle, waiting to surprise you.
Let your life be full, and when more beauty is welcomed, let your life become fuller. There is always more room for love.
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