learning from my dog

Loving people when they are nice to us, when they're in a good place, that's pretty easy. Loving people when they are not feeling kindly towards us, when they are struggling, that's when it's more of a challenge. But one I feel it's important to try and rise to. I don't always manage it, obviously, but I think it's worth a go. And another go, and...

I upset someone the other day by not noticing a request they had made. They were clearly hurting in their reaction (a note on my windscreen) and it would have been easy to have become defensive, or to be attacking back (if I'm not mixing my metaphors there). I decided to respond with humility and felt better for that than a more reactionary response, tho I'm still affected by it some weeks later.
Sometimes I do well only to then stumble in my eagerness to earn gratitude for how well I did. No one said it would be easy. But I will keep holding out for my higher self. And in the meantime there is a dog who seems to not be in the slightest bit bothered by how well I do, or how hard I try. He has no care for whether I got round to making an opticians appointment or swept the floor. (I did clean out the washing machine drum, seals and filter this week, and booked a boiler service, worked extra hours etc etc ). Each night he gets in close and enjoys the company, totally accepting. He teaches me a great deal.