[nagdu] Season's greetings

[doug weil]

Very nicely stated Liz; for me, training guide dogs is a religon too. It's 
because of people like you that keeps me going and wanting to train another one. 
I hope I don't get any older. I trained Liz with her first guide dog way back in 
the 70's. We were both very young children then; Liz was one of my first 
students. I think we were about 10 years old !! Anyways, Happy Holidays to Liz 
and all the guide dog users on the list. Hug the dogs!!

Doug Weil, GDMI
OccuPaws Guide Dog Association




________________________________
From: Elizabeth Rene <emrene at earthlink.net>
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Sent: Sun, December 19, 2010 7:41:16 PM
Subject: [nagdu] Season's greetings

Hi everyone,

I just want to wish all of you peace and happiness for this holy holiday season, 
and to join in your sorrow over the sad news from Colorado.

Thanks to all of you for sharing your stories of life with guide dogs, and for 
celebrating the wonder of their being with me.

Here is a short piece I wrote in 2001 in tribute to writer Annie Dillard. Hope 
it warms your hearts for the holidays.



Walking The Dog, Communing With God:

Celebrating the Liturgy of Everyday Life



          At 4:30 a.m., the tap of a wagging tail wakens me from sleep. 
Benedicite. I feed my dog, pull on a coat over my pajamas, and head out into the 
dark of pre-dawn morning to walk in a circle, as I have done for almost thirty 
years.  My dog leaves his offering, and I get down on my knees to clean up.  Deo 
gratias.  Thus begins for me a daily office celebrated before dawn, after 
breakfast, at noon, at suppertime, and before bed.  I feed, I water, and I walk 
in a circle with my dog as I have done for my whole adult life, and as countless 
guide dog handlers throughout the nation do every day.



For me, time is shaped by these walks.  Time is out of joint and the day is out 
of focus when I have no dog to walk.  In my relation to my dog, and to the God 
who accompanies us on our walks, I am a kind of monk.  My day is divided into 
the work of feeding and grooming, the discipline of daily obedience exercises, 
the playtime of ball chasing and fetching, and the hourly round of walking in a 
circle, where I pray.



          I did not know what it was to pray until I learned how to walk my 
dog.  I say no words.  I contemplate no psalms and make no petitions. But I am 
filled with deep peace.  Without willing it, my whole self opens to the holiness 
of the moment and gives thanks for the love of other creatures, for bodies that 
work harmoniously to nourish and cleanse themselves, for earth and sky, and for 
the fact that I will daily take part in both no matter what else I do in life.  
I am joined in relationship to a being other than myself, in community with 
other humans I will never meet, created by that Other who is as close to me as I 
am to my dog. For me, this is religion.



Best to all,



Elizabeth






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