CRAP!

I have a confession:

I love walking our dog, Wyatt (this is not the confession part). It's one of my very favorite ways to spend the morning or end the day is on a walk with my furry pal.

Occasionally we will go to a park or green way to beat the monotony of the neighborhood. I love walking amongst my fellow dog lovers. Plus, I really like the cute little "pooper scooper" bags at strategically placed trashcans along the walk.
(I've always liked accessories!)

A while back Shane and I noticed that we never take our own bag out with us to clean up Wyatt's ... well, waste... on our walks in the neighborhood. No one posted the cute little signs with handy scoops in our neighborhood, so it never occurred to me to take my own! (the nerve...)

But, none the less, we committed to be better neighbors and more conscientious of our responsibility (aka: our crap!).

After the decision was made, the next step was to actually remember to grab the bag! Too many times Wyatt and I would be on the other side of the neighborhood when I would see signs that #2 was on the way (you know the "crab walk" and spinning in enough circles to make a merry-go-round dizzy) and then PLOP... I'm embarrassed to admit some of the words that escaped my mouth at these moments when I realized our crap was on display in the neighborhood with no tool to scoop it up without notice. I could feel the eyes of neighbors, that must be on the other side of the windows, casting voodoo on me and my dog!

Eventually the walks became crappy... because I felt like crap for not cleaning up the crap!

A plan was made to keep the plastic bags with the leash so we would always be prepared!

Now that I have the bag with me for every walk, I've noticed the enjoyment is coming back. When Wyatt does what is natural, there is no ill energy, only a pause to pick up the poo, and off we go to chase rabbits or smell fire hydrants. The way the walks with dogs should be!

But, something else started to happen now that I have this bag full of poop. Now, when I walk by cigarette butts,water bottles, or other liter, I have room to pick it up and add it to our crap!

Little by little I started understanding that I can't help with the crap of the world, or my neighbor's crap, unless I first take responsibility for my own crap! Then, when I focus on what I need to do, I have more room to help others!

If you are focused on other's crap, turn your attention to how you can clean up your own. You'll be amazed at how this frees you to then help others in ways you couldn't (or didn't have the tools for!) before.