Inspirational moments? Tears well up in my eyes, my heart pounds or I get goose bumps.
When sentiment flags me down during normal events, I am ready to take it all in! Often, however, there are "other" little sparks of inspiration that hit me. Like little foxes, they spring up, and I am almost shocked at how connected I am to them. Those moments.
Such was the moment when I tuned in to the finals of the Westminster Kennel Club Show last week. I love dogs mind you, have always had a canine companion for most of my life, can tell dog stories until my cohort's eyes glaze over, but this was no ordinary evening. There was a "sweet spot" moment coming.
I settled down to take it all in on the last night, the big finals. It seemed pretty pro forma, as the judge took center stage to run the six finalists through their drills. The regal line-up included a Portuguese water dog named Matisse, a big standard poodle with an audacious poof, a high-brow shih Tzu, an elegant springer spaniel, and a little 5-inch beagle named Miss P. The suspense built as the judge took a full 20-minutes to survey the line-up, the commentators whispered low, and the audience applauded their favorite, an English sheepdog named Swagger.
I felt the goose bumps. God only knows why I was riveted, but I was. The judge took his time to build the suspense, and the audience audibly gasped when he announced the winner, obviously to most a surprise, Miss P the little 5-inch beagle.
I LOVED IT, BECAUSE MISS P WAS MY FAVORITE TOO! Why? I asked myself? Because this
little beagle was spunky. SPUNKY.
She was surrounded by high fashion, grooming that didn't quit, and mounds of experience she didn't have. She looked plain in comparison, and she had no hair to cover her short legs. She only had what she had, and she went for it. She held her head high, and every time the judge asked her to trot around the ring (which was more than usual), she pranced at a tricky gait--not too fast, but at a pace that said, "I'm going for it!"
Maybe that's why I loved her. I could see her spunk and I respected her for it. I suppose you can see where I COULD go with this, i.e., "just be who you are, and don't compare yourself to the other show-stoppers around you," or, "just because you are plain doesn't mean you are not special, or " you don't need hair to cover your short legs."
Nope. I am not going there, though those things are true. A few months ago, I noted that I was, in 2015 going to write about the connections in our lives. Miss P, a little beagle spoke to me as I sat down wearily to watch something "fun." As I regrouped last week and reflected that I need three of me to walk through my calendar these days, I think I needed to stop and smell the roses. God always uses what endears me in this life to speak when I need to hear, or relax, or relish.
I think it was her spunk that did it, the head held high, the "I'm going for it!" gait, the pure joy of doing what she loved to do; she knew she did well, you could see it in her posture, in her spirit. The judge saw it, and I think I needed to see it too. God always has a way of speaking to you in the way that you need, in the very time that you need.
Thank you Miss P. Thank you.
