Be Your Own Party

Posted December 31, 2011 By Ande and has 7 comments.

New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day and other parties are great, but why wait for a get-together to have a good time?

Joyful Springers are their own party. They know how to make every day a celebration. They do it by combining appreciation with a focus on finding what’s right about the world around them.

As you start this new year, forget typical resolutions that you’ll probably forget about within a few weeks. Instead, set a simple intention to go through the year in “party mode.” Celebrate your world everyday with appreciation and the desire to find the good in your life.

May your New Year be filled with pawsitively joyful tail-wags!

[Ruffles is back. Joan Howe says her sweet girl was very brave about balloons. And obviously, she knew how to be the star of her own party! ]

Share on Facebook

Categories: Appreciation, Feeling Good, Focus, Fun, Springer Spaniel

Tags: Appreciation, celebration, Dogs, English springer spaniel, Feeling Good, focus on the good, new years resolutions, party, spaniel, Springer Spaniel, springers

Immerse Yourself

Posted December 29, 2011 By Ande and has 1 comment.

We’re often hesitant to try new things. But life is about discovery. So why hang back?

Joyful Springers immerse themselves. They jump into new things with such joy and exuberant expectation that they bury themselves in the fun of it all.

Don’t deprive yourself of the joy of finding a new passion. Dive into the new and different. You’ll be delighted by how good it will make you feel.

[Snickers is back. Darlene Hoffman's great guy knows how to dive in. ]

Share on Facebook

Categories: Action, Confidence, Courage, Curiosity, Faith, Fun, Springer Spaniel

Tags: Courage, dive into new things, English springer spaniel, faith, Fun, spaniel, Springer Spaniel, springers, try new things

Use What You Get

Posted December 27, 2011 By Ande and has 4 comments.

The presents have been opened. Did you get what you wanted? Or are you wishing for something else?

Joyful Springers use what they get. They may have wants that haven’t yet been fulfilled, but in the meantime, they have a ball with whatever they have received from the universe (and from their loved ones).

The truth is you’ll never get everything you want because part of life is generating new desires all the time. So never lament what you haven’t gotten. Just have fun with what you did get. When you do, more will be on its way to you in no time.

[Mattie's back. Brenda's lovely girl obviously understands how to get the most enjoyment out of what she gets. ]

Share on Facebook

Categories: Abundance, Appreciation, Fun, Giving, Springer Spaniel

Tags: Acceptance, Appreciation, Dogs, English springer spaniel, presents, spaniel, Springer Spaniel, springers

Remember You Have Backlighting

Posted December 25, 2011 By Ande and has 4 comments.

Around Christmastime, we often remember we’re surrounded by what many people call angels … a Divine energy that has our best interests always in mind. The rest of the year, we sometimes forget.

Joyful Springers remember they have backlighting. They are always aware of the Divine glow that shines behind and around them.

Today, and every day of the year, you are nestled in the pure, glowing light of the Divine. When you can remember that, you’ll find it easier to find joy … always.

Ducky and Tim and I wish you and yours a warm and happy day celebrating whatever tradition lights you up from within and around you.

Happy Yule!

[Ducky doesn't need tree lights behind her to be lit up. She knows she's touched by Divine light ... and lots of love, always. ]

Share on Facebook

Categories: Divine, Springer Spaniel

Tags: Christmas, divine, Dogs, English springer spaniel, spaniels, Springer Spaniel, springers, yule

Join The Jolly Clique

Posted December 23, 2011 By Ande and has no comments yet.

Is laughter a big part of your life … or not?

Joyful Springers join the jolly clique. As if Santa was at their backs, they frequently laugh so hard their bellies shake like bowls full of jelly. They also seek out others who love to laugh, and they share their laughter so easily that they inspire others to laugh.

Laughter has some powerful health benefits: it boosts immunity, it lowers stress hormones, it can decrease pain, it relaxes your muscles, and it can prevent heart disease. So give yourself, and others, the gift of some Santa-inspired jolly belly laughs as often as possible. Life is a lot more fun if you choose ho, ho, ho over oh no, oh no, oh no.

[Pump, Butch, and Jeter are back. These North Carolina beauties (their momma, Helen, calls them "the 3-pack") are definitely "in" the Santa crowd. Santa is Helen's and her husband, Rich's, friend, Bill.]

Share on Facebook

Categories: Fun, Joy

Tags: English springer spaniel, jolly, laughter, santa, spaniels, springer spaniels, springers

Santacize To The Third Power

Posted December 21, 2011 By Ande and has 2 comments.

What comes up for you when you think of Santa? Giving? Love? Fun? How about all three?

Joyful Springers santacize to the third power. They may only don a Santa hat around Christmas, but all year round, they wear an invisible hat that reminds them to be giving, loving, and always ready for fun.

Santa doesn’t have to come around only this time of year. If you “get your Santa on,” he can hang out with you all year round. And when he does, every day can seem like Christmas.

[Sweet Pea and Poppy are back, and they have their sister, Daisy, with them. Daisy is an approximately 10-year old mixed breed. Their momma, Denise, when she sent me this photo, said, “Poppy's first Christmas is going to be a challenge. She is into everything - she's tried to make a toy out of each thing on this bench. The other two are bored with the whole thing already.” Well, they may be bored, but they sure are cute! ]

Share on Facebook

Categories: Fun, Giving, Love

Tags: Christmas, cocker spaniel, Dogs, English springer spaniel, Fun, Giving, Love, mixed breed, santa, spaniel, Springer Spaniel, springers

Wear Hats That Fit Just Right

Posted December 19, 2011 By Ande and has 4 comments.

Most of us “wear a lot of hats,” in our lives. We are many things to many people. And that’s fine. But what’s not fine is when we’re being something that’s all wrong for us … no matter how much someone else needs it.

Joyful Springers wear hats that fit just right. They understand that trying to contort themselves into something that doesn’t fit isn’t going to help anyone in the long run.

Go ahead and wear all your different hats. You can play many roles and do it authentically. But when you’re doing something that feels awkward or stressful, check and make sure you’re not wearing a hat that is all wrong for you. You’ll do more good in the world when you have on a well-fitted hat.

[Ducky borrowed this hat off of a Christmas bear. It has holes for the bear's ears that also work well for Springer ears. We think it fits her perfectly. ]

Share on Facebook

Categories: Authenticity, Giving

Tags: Authenticity, Dogs, English springer spaniel, spaniel, Springer Spaniel, springers, wear many hats

Go Sledding

Posted December 16, 2011 By Ande and has no comments yet.

In the snowfield of life, you can either trudge (by working hard) or you can glide (by trusting your inner guidance).

Joyful Springers go sledding. They follow their inner voice and use intuition to make choices so that life feels like an effortless slide down a beautiful, fun hill.

Why plod through life when you can sled through it? Follow your intuition and glide through your days.

[Meet Wilber. This adorable ferret from Illinois is Joan Howe's "grand-ferret. ]

Share on Facebook

Categories: Inner wisdom, Inspiration, Springer Spaniel

Tags: ferrets, inner guidance, intuition, sledding

Get In Up To Your Armpits

Posted December 13, 2011 By Ande and has no comments yet.

We often move through life a little too tentatively, afraid to go all out for fear of failure or rejection.

Joyful Springers get in up to their armpits. They don’t tippy-toe through life. They dive in and have fun without worry about what bad things could happen.

Are you holding yourself back from having a tail-wagging good time because you might look silly if you do or you might mess up? Try letting go of the fears. Follow your feel-good whims and have a great time. You can never fail when you’re having fun. And anyone who rejects a good time isn’t worth hanging around with anyway.

[River is back. Abby's 1 1/2 year old sweet girl discovered snow for the first time last winter, and she loves it!. ]

Share on Facebook

Categories: Courage, Feeling Good, Fun, Springer Spaniel

Tags: Dogs, English springer spaniel, failure, Feeling Good, Fun, rejection, spaniel, Springer Spaniel, springers, what others think

Stick Your Nose In Sparkly Stories

Posted December 10, 2011 By Ande and has 4 comments.

We tell and listen to a lot of “stories” in our lives. We tell them about ourselves (who we are and what’s going on with us) and we hear them about others (from things we read and from people we talk to). And we can choose what kind of stories we want to tell and hear.

Joyful Springers stick their noses in sparkly stories. They choose to tell what’s good about themselves and their lives, and they choose to take in only the best of what they read or hear from others.

Whatever stories you’re focusing on are creating your life. You’re living into the narratives you tell and hear. So why would you want to tell sad stories, angry stories, or scary stories? And why would you want to listen to them? When you choose upbeat stories, you choose an upbeat life.

[As you can see from the photo, Ducky had a great time reading Nancy Lucas's and her Springer, Scout's, story, The Missing Boston Terriers of Smith Street. She also enjoyed having me read to her Nancy and Scout's latest book, A Ghostly Tail.

Ducky says both of Nancy and Scout’s books are clever and cute and funny and especially wonderful because the hero in the books is a Joyful Springer. She loves the drawings in the books, which Nancy does herself.

I asked Ducky if she had any comments about A Ghostly Tail, and she said, “I’d be upset too if someone told me fluffy was stupid. I’m excited by the idea of finding pizza on the ground. I’m going to check the beach daily; maybe I’ll find some too. I’ve never met any ghosts, but I do get communications from Muggins [Ducky’s predecessor]. She taught me how to roll on dead birds on the beach. I think the story is fun. Where else can you read about a ghost wolfhound, palmetto bugs, horrid purses, and a possum named Chisolm?”

Ducky’s review may be a little disjointed, but doesn’t it make you curious about the book? You can find out more about both of Scout’s books and how to get a copy by clicking on the titles above. Oh, and Ducky says she things hard copies of the books, which you can get at Amazon.com, would make nice stocking stuffers. And so would some nice smoked pork hide chews. ]