How Do You Turn Dog Pooh Into Chocolate Cake?

This was a question asked by a client about how to 'make the best of a bad situation'.

Great question. The short answer is - you don't.

Dog pooh is dog pooh. You don't want it. You don't like it. And you certainly don't want to eat it.

'But hang on', I hear you say, deliberate creator's shackles up, 'what we resist persists, right?'

Right.

Only this is not about resisting. It's about re-focusing. It's about using dog pooh as a springboard to get to chocolate cake.

Resistance looks like this: "I don't like this. This is why I don't like it. It makes me feel bad. This dog pooh [substitute job/ relationship/ body/ bank account] is wrong, wrong, wrong. I hate it. I really want something else other than this horrible dog pooh. Gee it stinks.'

This is where you dig into the dog pooh. You've got it all over you and the more you try to get it off your sneaker, the more it grinds stubbornly into the grooves. You are walking, talking dog pooh mess.

So what's one to do about the dog pooh doo-doo?

"I've got to get better at feeling gratitude in this situation," says the client. "Maybe that will help shift things."

Codswallop! If you're neck deep in dog pooh there is no way on Buddha's green earth you are going to find a modicum of gratitude that is genuine. You'd be spitting chips through gritted teeth, at best, and rightfully so.

Gratitude, shmatitude. Now is not the time for gratitude.

No, my dear readers, the only thing to do when you're swimming in the brown stuff is to wave your appreciation wand.

What can you find to appreciate about the dog pooh bath? If nothing else, it shows you exactly what you DON'T want. Hallelujah - thanks for the clarity.

Appreciation, as compared with gratitude, is an active focus, and one that puts you back in the driver's seat. Gratitude implies a sense of owing someone something. And when it stinks, the only thing that would make it worse is having to say 'thanks' for the mess.

So appreciate the wahzoo out of the doggy doo doo. It's warm. It reminds you that you are having a very real life experience. It reminds you that you need to do something to get out of the mess. It can be used as fertiliser. Flies will like it. Frogs like flies. And frogs are good!

Once you're down that path you'll notice less and less dog pooh. You'll see more and more flowers. And soon that path will waft with the delicious odour of a sumptuous cake....

Hmmmm...your favourite...chocolate. Now that IS something to feel grateful for.

So boys and girls, that is how you let doggie pooh pooh lead you to chocolate cake.