There is a small dog barking in my neighborhood this morning. Yap, yap, yap, he goes on and on. Sometimes small dogs barking seem the bane of my existence.

And then I think the small dog is like my mind: yap, yap, yap, saying the same thing over and over again, bothering me with its persistent message.

When the dog stops I feel a sense of peace come over me, that is, if I realize he has stopped barking. Sometimes I don’t even notice.

My practice with myself, the discipline I need to learn, is to realize that my small mind is yapping again, telling me the same dismal message over and over. And I listen to it!

I am at my best when I can tell my own small dog mind to be still and quiet.
Everything is in its place and everything is unfolding just as it needs to.