Imagine the cutest, fluffiest, sweetest little white puppy. That’s the one we were lucky enough to add to our family recently.

The other evening, this cute little guy bit my daughter right under the nose hard enough to hurt her. I forgot all my dog training knowledge, and scolded him.

It was late in the day. He was overtired and over stimulated running around the backyard with two excited children.

It wasn’t his fault at all.

Guess what happened when I got angry with him? He just got more stimulated and worked up.

What he needed was help calming down. What he needed was kindness and gentleness. What he needed was a patient confident voice to guide him back to his centre, to himself, to remind him of how to be.

I am a lot like this puppy, and so are many people that I know.

My friend contacted me recently. She felt like she might have an anxiety attack. Life has thrown many curve balls at her recently, and on top of that, she is in the middle of a move. As many of us know, it can feel really overwhelming to be packing your life away in boxes.

I gently reminded her that she would greatly benefit from calming her nerves. (put away your phone, have a hot shower, meditate, drink lots of water, rest.) I reminded to her to gently come back to herself.

Like the puppy, we need gentleness when we are off. We also need an inner voice that is patient and confident to guide us back to the centre -- that provides us with what we need at that moment.

My self-talk:
I am going to help you calm down.
I am going to give you the time and space that you need to feel more relaxed.
Everything is ok. You are safe.