Day 693

Evidently there are three speeds in my life: Sam Speed, Gus Speed and Ranger/Lilly Speed. When Sam and I head out for a walk, it is FAST! When Gus is my partner, we have time to enjoy a few of the sights. Lilly and Ranger literally saunter and we all take time to pause and savor our surroundings. All three speeds have their virtues.

I can be in my manic mode (Sam) and get an inordinate amount accomplished. Multi-tasking is effective for short spurts, but tends to be exhausting in the long run. This is not my favorite speed, but it is sometimes necessary.

The medium speed (Gus) is enjoyable, but my mind goes much faster than my walking speed. Today, when Sweet Gus was by my side, my thoughts were with the dinner preparation at home, training opportunities, my schedule for the week and a host of other thoughts. We arrived at home to check dinner in the oven, my calendar, and Lilly's chicken boiling on the stovetop. This is always one of my favorite speeds.

The third walk is always a stroll (Lilly and Ranger). We gear our speed for Lilly's comfort and stop at all the best "sniffs." It takes twice as long to repeat the walk, but the rewards are rich. At this pace, my interactions with the Goldens are more meaningful, my senses are allowed to experience the surroundings and my brain is mercifully relaxed and stops spinning. This is my favorite walk.

The question I ask myself is, 'Why not go Lilly/Ranger speed all the time?' Of course, reality dictates that we must speed up from time-to-time, so the Sam and Gus speeds need to kick in. It's not always relaxing, but certainly more productive.

Pondering my speeds today, the question arose as to how much time is spent at each level. The realization hit hard! The slowest mode offered the richest experience...awareness, relaxation and connectedness are found there. However, I seldom find myself at that speed.

Lilly and Ranger agree: Slow Down and pet the Goldens! I might just try to do that a little bit more!