Stephanie Anderson

For a while now we have ‘ummed and aahed’ about getting a dog, on the one hand attracted by the dream of a faithful companion, the long walks in the countryside and so on, but also anxious about the realities and responsibilities.  The other day we asked a dog-owning friend for advice.  She told us about chewed furniture, scratched floors, muddy and hairy carpets – some of the realities I’d feared – but added that proper training (of the dog and us) would make a huge difference.  This was reassuring, although having tried to set boundaries for children in the past I’m quietly nervous about how successful I’d be with a dog.  Still, there was a clear message; that we could determine to some extent how good an experience it would be.

It’s useful to check on reality when fear is getting in the way of our creativity. We may fear we lack talent or ability but the reality is that we’re rarely instantly brilliant at anything new and usually it’s only through practice that we improve.   We may think others will regard our creative work as a waste of time, and we know that relatively few earn their living or win prizes or fame this way, but we know too that creativity is important for many reasons that have nothing to do with money or fame and isn’t it true that people will think what they’re going to think?   Finally, yes, we might start and then abandon our creative project, but there are ways to manage creative practice to keep it going.  If we never begin?…..

Perhaps the better reality is the one that lets desire outweigh the fears so that we can give our creativity a chance, discover our abilities and experience the fulfillment that comes from pursuing our creative dreams.  What I’m not sure about is if this better reality also includes a dog.