My family has raised eleven dogs: eight Guide Dogs for the Blind and three beloved family companions.
Over the years, I’ve watched something in them that feels almost sacred. Dogs don’t carry the self-conscious hesitations that so often restrain us. They don’t calculate how they will appear. They don’t withhold joy. They don’t temper enthusiasm. They simply and uninhibitedly express what they feel.
And what they feel — fully and freely — is love.
The remarkable thing about dogs is that they bring that same wholehearted intensity to everything — even their dinner bowls. Though beautifully trained to sit and “wait” until “released” before eating, they tremble with anticipation, drool forming, eyes fixed, bodies quivering with focus. Once released…stand back. Their concentration is absolute.
Yet I’ve observed that even their unconditional love flows more strongly than their powerful food drive.
If you’ve ever had a dog, you know this quality. You’ve seen the way they greet you — as if you are the most important being in the universe. Perhaps you’ve watched videos of soldiers returning home, their dogs overcome with devotion. Or read stories of dogs rescuing children or protecting other animals. There is something pure there. Something unguarded.
Last night, our dog Ellie gave me a lesson I didn’t expect.
Ellie is an exuberant, eight-year-old rescued terrier with bowed little back legs and a walk like a cowboy. She has no pedigree, but she has an enormous heart. She had just been released from her “wait” command and was enthusiastically devouring her dinner when my husband’s car pulled into the driveway — directly within her line of sight.
I’ve never seen this happen before – Ellie stopped eating!
For three full seconds, she seemed to weigh her options. Her beloved dinner… or her beloved human?
Then she chose.
Without hesitation, she abandoned her meal — fully aware that our larger, opportunistic dog would gladly claim it — and she bolted for the door. She flew outside to greet my husband with a display of joy so wholehearted it nearly took my breath away: tail whipping, entire back end wiggling, little whimpers of delight, running ecstatic circles around him.
And I sat in my chair.
Did I rise to greet him? Did I walk to the door? Did I even stand? Nope.I remained where I was. Perhaps I was tired. Perhaps I was comfortable. But the truth was simple: I was contained. Reserved. Economical with my energy.
Ellie, food-obsessed little Ellie, had just demonstrated a freedom of love that I had not. She left me in the dust — but she also left me with a gift.
How often do we hold back? How often do we greet those we love with only partial presence? I don’t need to run circles in the driveway — but I can choose to let my heart show more. I can choose to make someone feel deeply seen and welcomed.
Swami Kriyananda spoke often about performing every action with uplifted energy, enthusiasm, and joy –free from ego’s concern about appearances. He reminded us that the love and joy we give, returns to us. When we withhold energy, we diminish our own magnetism. When we give wholeheartedly, we strengthen it.
But how do we change?
Perhaps it begins more simply than we think. Not with dramatic transformation, but with small directional shifts. A little more warmth in a greeting. A little more energy in a conversation. A little less self-reference.
A little more giving of ourselves.
When we lean–even slightly–toward higher expressions of love, joy, kindness, service, and enthusiasm, something subtle begins to shift within us. Our magnetism changes. Our relationships change. Even our health and vitality can change. What we radiate, we attract.
The destiny of every soul is to become the embodiment of unconditional love and joy. We have spent lifetimes resisting that truth. Yet we also have the freedom to begin now.
Last night, watching this little soul love without reserve, reminded me of Swami Kriyananda’s beautiful quote:
“To perfect love is to know the secrets of the universe.”
P.S. Ellie did not go dinner-less.
It is Chela’s great joy to be of service leading Ananda Thousand Oaks. She is an Ananda Minister, a Tyagi, a certified Meditation instructor, a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda and a Kriyaban. Chela loves sharing the teachings of Self-realization, leading classes for Ananda, meditations, satsangs, and more. She has been married for thirty-nine years and is mom to two adult children. She offers a loving heart to anyone seeking support in their spiritual journey. Chela is author of Bhakti, A journey of Soul discovery.
