Recently I had the opportunity to go up to Canada and spend some time with family. I took a couple of young dogs with me. As I shared my time between these young dogs and my family I was struck with a correlation between the two.
For many years, I live a bit of a nomadic lifestyle. I have missed watching a lot of my nieces and nephews as they grew up. I'm at a stage in my life now that I look at some of that and feel guilt for the things I've missed. Talking with family about this I was a little surprised as to how my perception of that time is different than my theirs. I feel guilt for not being there, they indicated they were just happy when I was there; a huge difference in the perspective and the memories left. One perspective was of guilt while the other was happiness.
While in Canada the weather was beautiful and I got to spend some time with my younger dogs just alone going for walks with no expectation except just being together. As the days progressed, I enjoyed watching how my dogs acted and interacted with each other and with me. Since I was walking multiple dogs at a time I would make a point to call individuals out for personal time between myself and them while leaving the others to play amongst themselves. I was a little taken back realizing that, like my family, they were excited when we had time together but were also happy just out doing things. They did not have to compete for attention, there was a trust that all was well and they would have their time.
What does trust in relationships mean. whether it's with family, friends or dogs? It means there will be less completion and more acceptance. Trust will build a connection. This connection will then continue to build as long as the trust is maintained. When the people or dogs around you trust you, they spend their time looking at the good in you even when you can't see it in yourself. The more they trust you, the more they will believe in you. Imagine the power we could have if we could build and harness those relationships of trust. Imagine all we can get accomplished with our dogs if we could build on their trust!