In one of my Imposition Tour blog
I suppose I first met Juanita right after my husband, Lou, and I found out we didn’t have any money. She was this tiny teacup-sized dog, trembling in the corners of my mind, snapping at my fingers every time I tried to reach her. But over time, I managed to coax her into my lap so I could stroke her tiny head and help her find a reason to believe that we were going to be OK.
During the worst parts of my tricky season of survival on the road with Lou, Juanita gave me the spunk I needed to jump up and take care of things. But sometimes, her jittery energy made it more difficult for me to break and lean into my lessons with more grace. I think the sheer size of our problems overwhelmed Juanita at times, and so her desire to hide and stay small started to become my go-to response of choice as well.
But eventually, I had to take charge of what I could, and I realized that Juanita and I both needed to learn how to process my situation differently. If I could keep my focus on the simple things I could deal with, then I would inevitably feel more centered and calm. If I could separate the lights from the darks, and keep the colors of my life gathered into a different pile, somehow, things seemed more manageable.
Juanita is still with me, only now…she makes me laugh at myself more than she used to. And, we both seem to better understand how important it is to take on every part of life one load at a time.
