Three lessons I learned when we named our dog that are still helping me now
(Proof that I'm not just a cat person)
“There’s absolutely no way you’ll get a female puppy from these litters.”
That’s what our breeder told us the first time we met her fifteen years ago, and just before we gave her the boy’s name we’d chosen now that she smashed our hope of having a girl miniature schnauzer.
But, Judas is the kind of name that inspired my church-going breeder to all of a sudden find an available female in those litters after all. And, surprisingly, in less than 24 hours too!
No, new puppies hadn’t been born, but we had it on good authority that she was thoroughly offended by the name.
That’s how we ended up with Nina.
She was named after one of my favourite singers, Nina Simone. And I was convinced that she even embodied Ms. Simone’s powerful persona after witnessing our eight-week-old puppy retaliate against her last remaining littermates - the one who pinned her down in their final wrestling match and the one who stood by and did nothing to stop the beating - before we finally brought her home.
I knew Nina would be Nina before my husband did.
A few months before we were going to be first-time dog owners, we began brainstorming names.
He didn’t want to be yelling out a complicated or “long-ass name” with lots of syllables in public when we needed to quickly get the dog’s attention. And we both agreed that we didn’t want a stereotypical name like Spot or Buddy, but it should be simple.
Nina matched that criteria.
He disagreed.
His first suggestion was “Pa-pa-Leg-ba”.
His second was “Pen-el-o-pe(e)”.
Did you notice all those syllables?
And feel free to yell those names out loud to see how quickly and easily they roll off your tongue!
Seriously, try it. Now do it faster and frantically as you imagine your beloved dog racing into harm’s way.
It’s. Not. Easy.
We can thank his short-lived interest in exploring world religions at the time, specifically his respect for Voodoo, for his first suggestion.
His reasoning for his second suggestion basically boiled down to “just because”.
Since I couldn’t hear the rest of his suggestions over my roaring laughter… and he clearly had zero chance at making his case, (or recovering from my merciless mocking), Nina was crowned the winner.
However, his point about yelling out a name to see how it feels did help me pick out, Judas.
It became a front runner for a boy because:
It’s beautiful.
I love (LOVE!) Carl Anderson’s portrayal of Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar (his voice!).
I knew what kind of attention that name got in certain circles. (Remember my breeder’s reaction!)
And it was ridiculous how delighted I was at potentially kicking up some shit over a simple name at a dog park (do not pardon this pun!).
And at how I’d entertain the puppy (but mainly myself) by reenacting the choreography and musical stylings of this song throughout its lifetime.
So why am I sharing all of this?
I’m currently working on some new projects that I’ve never done before and it’s making me think of three lessons, or reminders, I learned when I became a dog mom all those years ago.
They’re still helping me navigate and stay afloat in these new waters I find myself in now.
Lesson/reminder number 1:
Back then, I was told I couldn’t have what I wanted because of a gatekeeper (our breeder) who wasn’t willing/able to make the impossible, possible.
Until things got uncomfortable.
Recognize the value in discomfort.
Not a lot changes when everything and everyone is comfy.
And the good thing about discomfort is that it’s temporary. (Even when it feels like it’ll last forever.)
Lesson/reminder number 2:
No matter how temporary something is, it can leave a lasting impression.
Like a fleeting idea that never actually sees the light of day… like owning a dog named Judas.
Now I know that if something is making you feel sparkly inside, it’s always worth exploring, in real and/or imagined ways, no matter how temporary it may be.
Mainly because it’ll likely continue to bring you joy beyond those few months.
Even if you’re the only one who knows about it.
I’ve lost count of how often I’ve been pleasantly surprised by what I learned in the process and where it led me next!
And I think doing something just because you really fucking love it doesn’t get nearly as much credit as it should.
Lesson/reminder number 3:
And lastly, thank goodness for people who can make you laugh (and not cry from sadness) with their flawed logic and arguments against what you know to be true so that you’ll have enough hilarious material to keep you cackling for years to come!
(It also helps when those people can laugh at themselves too… once they realize the errors of their ways!)
Return to these memories and laughs whenever you need to ditch the doubts you’re having about your capabilities!
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All of these lessons/reminders can be applied to several aspects of your life and in various ways.
These ones in particular often help me while I'm creating, playing and working.
So as I attempt to make headway in these new ventures of mine, I’m very happy to report that these past nuggets of wisdom resurfaced while I was making fun messes in my visual journal.
A random image (not a dog) I cut out of a magazine and pasted on a yellow background I’d previously created in one of my sketchbooks made me think back to my beloved Nina.
Was it the colour yellow that made me think of a picture I have of her near yellow curtains? Or was there a word written on the back of the picture I glued on the page that sparked a memory? Maybe it was the marks I’d scratched on the pages that reminded me of her scruffy beard?
It's not always necessary to do a deep analysis to understand why or how these memories came to my attention. I can simply appreciate that this practice helped me make those connections I shared above.
And as more memories came up seeking attention while I journaled, I captured these snippets of wisdom (and more!) that have been keeping me excited while I'm learning new things and meeting new people.
And it's this wisdom that's helping me continue in ways that work best for me even when it’s challenging and I begin to have doubts about my capabilities.
If you'd like me to show you how to do the same for yourself, you’re welcome to join my online course Exploring Creative Connection Through Visual Journaling.
Not only will you have access to all of the material but a few times during the year you’ll get to work directly with me at no additional cost!!!
Visual journaling is a constant source of joy for me and I want to help you experience the same.
This simple but powerful practice continues to fuel my creative endeavours (and my soul) all these years later. The fact that it's also SO much fun is a huge bonus.
Click here to see what I mean.