Author: Jeff Shapiro

Today, I’m going to give this day everything it wants from me …
I’m not going to censure anything or blame anyone …
I’m going to lift  my paws to the heavens with joy …
And understand nature and follow Her.
 
Today, my kisses will be accurate and sweet (no more going for the nostrils …)
Slimy, juicy, perfect (yup as disgusting as it sounds …)
Love all things …
And simply be content to be myself.
 
So, let’s talk about what you’re going to do today …
I’m here to remind you that there is a bloom inside of you …
You are it’s interpreter …
It can be beautiful, or it can never see the sun.
 
This bloom is your most valuable thing …
If not, near the top of the list …
Within lies complete emancipation …
Shiny, colorful, precious (you can see an example with me …)
 
Don’t worry, I too am sometimes sweetly disheveled by regret …
But those regrets are water under the bridge …
So, why do you keep building new bridges?
Just let the water carry all that unhappiness away!
 
Bloom today with the unique flower that is you.
 
I love you
 
Annie

Sorry I missed you yesterday.  Wednesdays are my racquetball days with my poodle friend Tinker.
 
Come on don’t look at me that way …
 
Do you think this is such a strange thing?
A long hairy body with short little legs playing racquetball …
I’m not some sort of insignificant weakling …
I am so much different than that.
 
If you look a little closer, you’ll see a tiger inside this teddy bear body …
Something, nothing less than astonishing …
A pup who’s always searching for the place where biscuits are made …
Outlined by the light of the courageous.
 
This is because …
 
I always put a twinkle in everything I see …
Always push my paths into new territory …
I wag my tail at one weary traveler after the next …
Because I know that the line is thin between elation and disappointment.
 
I have no use for standpoints, views or opinions …
There are too many trends and stances drawn from dark places …
For me, I would rather be soft and gentle …
And show you how to live among the stars.
 
That is why your presence is so important to me …
Your mind is common to people …
My mind is common to nature …
And when we snuggle, I’m pulling you over to the happier side.
 
I love you,
 
Annie

What? There’s a voucher?
How do I get this voucher?
And by the way, what is a voucher?
You mean, with a piece of paper I can get something for free?
 
Will it work for bacon n’ nutty biscuits?
Understood, I have to get in line …
What if the cashier can’t see me?
I’m pretty low to the ground!
 
Hello, what’s your name?
I always like to get everyone’s name when I’m standing in line …
It signifies their uniqueness in the universe …
And, without recognizing it, they all look so lost.
 
I guess I just like to be present for everyone …
This instance being the only one of it’s kind forever …
We are all kind of like cut out pieces of worn out clothes …
Needing to be sewn together.
 
Hey, would you like a biscuit?
You know this life is everyone’s business …
And when I look at you humans, I think I will never be perfectly fulfilled …
Until I give all my biscuits away.
 
Yes, you can have a biscuit, but only take 1!
 
I love you,
 
Annie

Have you ever noticed …
 
That we pups never take sides in an argument …
We possess neither property nor fashion (I have no clothes!)
We snuggle both saints and sinners …
After all, doesn’t everything have 2 sides?
 
Yet, we always come laden with gifts …
We never have bad news …
We are always asking questions …
Like aren’t you interested in reaching the real ocean?
 
So, what if we’re always hungry!
And see everything as a tossed salad of green …
It’s just nature, part of our animal function …
Just like we are always hungry for your touch.
 
Yep, that’s what today’s all about …
It begins anew unmarred by stains …
Yesterday is just the black remains of a campfire …
Today we can build it again even higher …
 
Look! The dew is showing the perfection of the spider web …
Crazy, before it was just a frilly blur …
Look!  Your smile is mirrored back to you by everyone!
Crazy, before it was just a sea of frowns.
 
Smile!  Opinions really don’t matter!
 
I love you,
 
Annie

Do you mind if today I ask you a personal question?
 
What is your art?
To do everything your master says…
To make sure your bark or your growl isn’t too piercing…
Or, to explore every path of the spirit of this world?
 
When I was just a puppy, I discovered that in life there are two theaters and two stages…
One that I perform on day in and day out, where all the other pups are my audience…
The other which I perform before the spirit of my soul.
My goal has always been to turn the two stages into one.
 
For me, when it first started to happen, it was like hearing a symphony on a tin radio…
The intricacies of the string section confused by the static…
But, what a wonderful beginning…
After such a long road of lefts and rights.
 
The gates of life opened for just a moment…
Like a big nursery for pups and people alike…
Or like all the colorful wheels at a carnival…
Radiant and easy on the eyes.
 
So again, what is your art?
You should know, you perform every day…
On which stage are you performing?
Or are they both the same?
 
See you on the grand stage.  I’ll be in the front row.
 
I love you,
 
Annie

Have you ever heard of the islands of the blessed …
They can be anywhere …
Today, I’ve found one in the play-space of my new cousin…
They may want to disinfect it after I leave.
 
Here I am, playing with the mobiles …
It’s like throwing a feather into the light to make life seem ghter …
The babies sweet smell is on everything …
I dream that we will always be together.
 
You know, life can be very kind …
It doesn’t have to be a blood-sport …
Look around, no one is chasing you …
There are no pointy teeth glistening in the darkness.
 
Come, lie next to me …
Go ahead and swat the owl (in the picture) and watch it swing back and forth …
See, if like me, you get goose bumps (yes, pups get goose bumps) …
And then watch how all of your arguments with life turn into dust.
 
Don’t pay attention to the crazies …
They’re seldom right …
Why worry, when you don’t have to …
Now hit another of the mobiles and watch it swing.
 
Now go out and find an island of blessing today!
 
Big licks and kisses (Oh yeah, they’re the same)
 
I love you,
 
Annie

Each morning I ask myself, “Is there really anything for me to be afraid of today?”
Is it the snarling of the bobcat?
Or those strange tracks in the sand?
That gray sky that has crept into my head?
 
Fear can have so many faces
I’m sure that you’re like me…..afraid of something
You know; those other-worldly ghosts
All from some other scary universe
 
I have found that fear lives only on the edges of the bushes
And it only takes a bark and a growl to make it drift away
And when it’s gone, somehow pain disappears with it
And I can chase the ball in the great park of freedom
 
Once there, the party never dies
So many pups zipping about
The sun becomes like a big walkie-talkie
And just by being, I can call anyone I want

So, ask yourself, is there really anything to fear today?
Remember, fear is like a tear in the fabric of your world
So, get out a needle and thread and sew it up!
And come fetch the ball with me in the sunshine
 
Love you,
 
Annie

P.S. Check out this video.

Today I’m going to make a confession

I hate cows!
They chomp and they moo and don’t wipe their butts!
Obviously inferior creatures
Can you imagine never learning the squat, drag and wipe method (first thing my mama taught me)
 
But my butler Jeff, tells me I’m not being fair
He says I need to skip a meadow in their hooves before judging them
So, today I’m going to try to understand
I’m going to start with chomping grass (refer to video)
 
Mmmm, this grass isn’t so bad
It’s kind of like a mixture of lettuce and earth
With a just a slight hint of possum
And some other seasoning (probably dog poop) that I can’t put my paw on
 
Then I tried to moo (I couldn’t moo) and not wipe my butt, and realized that this judgment of cows is only causing me distress
Aren’t we both born of the same being?
Wow, I’m hating half my life away
Maybe, my great, great, great, grand puppster was a cow!

This judgment is making me shorter than I already am
It’s like a slow torture wheel
Still, I just can’t bring myself to saying that I like cows
But, I’m working on it
Try not judging today,
 
Big lick
 
Annie

In a way, I’m kind of like Sponge Bob
Everything sticks to me
My butler, Jeffrey calls me “Swiffer”
But I have no idea what that means
 
It’s a small price to pay for adventure
For digging a hole, just for the sake of digging
Who knows what’s down there
I’m still looking for that bone I buried in 2013 (I know it’s around here somewhere)
 
I’m just following my natural rhythms
And they seem always to lead back to the dirt
You will understand, if you only dig your hands into this earth
The only thing bad, is afterwards you might need a bath (run!!!)
 
I know sometimes you are sad and tired
That’s because you are letting the wrong things stick to you
Detach yourself, rip off the bandaid, you’ll see the wound has healed long ago
Then, remember a childhood game and come teach me how to play
 
Love you,

Annie

Even if I could, I wouldn’t make this earth over
How could I imagine more than all the astonishing myriads of colors?
A universe of everything and forever?
How could I improve on You, my beautiful friend?
 
It’s impossible for me to enjoy anything more than watching my butler Jeffrey feeding sticks into the flames to keep me warm
And then the wonder of the flames always going up (why do they do that?)
Their twirling and dancing
Ouch that stick is on fire! (Sometimes I can be too curious for my own good)
 
I love the forever question of, “Who am I?”
What? You don’t think that pups have souls?
We, like you, are just like the stars
We both live in this technicolor galaxy
 
How could I improve on the stones, the rocks and trees
My little bunny friend who I can never convince to come a little closer (he’s probably wise not too)
The soft beds of pine needles in the forest
Your beautiful smile
 
Yep, I think this world is pretty perfect
It is amazing how everything fits together
Like you and me
That being the sum of it all
 
Go out today and enjoy the world’s splendor!
 
Love,
 
Annie