If your day were an invisible friend, what would it look like?
Meet Bodhi.
No, we did not get another dog. We have our Ruby, and she is our beloved heart-opening canine, and brave protector from all things Squirrel Nation. She is our love doctor. Our comedy channel. And our marriage counselor. No one could want more from a dog.
B
odhi is different. Here’s my secret, my invisible service animal, trained to recognize the smell of depression. When he smells trouble, he ruffs me out of bed, and gets me outside.
How can I explain this? Imagine that you are you, and your day is your day. As two separate entities, your day is a presence that accompanies you through your waking hours.
Now, give that day form. What form does it take for you? Imagine the best case scenario. Is it an angel? A beloved elder who’s passed on? A spirit, a light? It could even be a child who makes you happy, or a cartoon character. Just remember that however you treat your day, that’s how you treat this form.
My day takes the form of an invisible, intuitive, service dog. No matter what happens, Bodhi (my day) is with me. And to the extent that I listen to him, and treat him well, I am also doing the same for my day. I would never think of cussing out my brilliant service dog, so I don’t cuss out my day. (But I used to do this all the time).
Because Bodhi is at my side, I tend to treat other people well. And because I’m in such an expansive, happy mood, other people tend to treat me well.
Also, when I’m writing for hours at my desk, Bodhi knows when too much time has passed. His muzzle nudges me to get up. We go around the block together.
We do errands together. He gets the whole back seat. I let him stick his head out the window and chomp at the wind blowing his hair. (No idea why he does that, but I love it.)
My favorite thing to do with Bodhi is to sail right past the ABSOLUTELY NO DOGS signs in the parks. We giggle and romp, and no one sees the great big dog right next to me, running for the frisbee, catching it mid-air, bringing it back.
Restaurants, stores, banks with signs that say, SERVICE DOGS ONLY, we go in and I know no one will stop us because A) Bodhi is a service dog, and B) he’s invisible.
If you’ve read this far, you might be a little worried about my mental health. I know my wife has been looking at me a little sideways since I told her about Bodhi. But this is something that has helped me come out of depression, and I’m sharing it with you because maybe you can do it, too.
The important thing is — this is not a gimmick. It’s not a trick of the imagination. This is a real state of mind, brought about with the help of a real imagination. And it brings into my life a real energy field, a real being. Mine is a Bodhi-shaped day, every day.
And that helps everyone.
Tell me about your day. What does it look like? What does it do for you?