And, how do you express your gratitude? -- by simply having the attitude of gratefulness... Gratitude and attitude! These two thoughts are similar, in that gratitude is an attitude, one that keeps you inside the flow of All Good, which is God. When you can maintain the attitude of gratefulness throughout each day, you are well on your way to growth, spiritually and in every other area.
~ from MESSAGES TO OUR FAMILY by Annie and Byron Kirkwood
Barnaby was like a mood, a fragrance of the harmonious inner life, permeating everything with which he came into contact. He knew sorrow and he knew joy, and he held them in a delicate balance of serenity and peace. He knew how to respond equally joyfully to an invitation to walk or talk or sit together, which seems to me to be a particular kind of training in grace -- a willingness to respond easily and happily to even the most modest adventure together. Perhaps it could be said that within his framework of being a dog, he lived life as a spiritual exercise.
Barnaby was what I call "heart smart." While other dogs accompanied me in our intellectual journeys and listened while ideas came in, Barnaby just walked and walked with me, looking at the river or the woods and feeling deep feelings. Rarely have I had a walking companion who could just be silent, not having to make a talking point or a barking commentary. With Barnaby, one barked in silence in which much of a more contemplative nature was communicated -- peace, simplicity, the glory of the natural world, the presence of God.
