[Audio version: https://soundcloud.com/lex-mckee/life-to-the-max]

I've got a little friend called, "Max." Max is my neighbour's dog. He looks like "Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy" if you've ever seen the Lynley Dodd books (or care to Google the image).

Max is an enthusiast. Nothing is held back. I have known him try to draw me through the garden fence by the power of his nose suction alone. This little black, wet nozzle of a snozzle finds a tiny gap under the fence and inhales as if his life depends upon it... His wagging tail causes a small tremor that can be felt through the ground... he is truly inspirational!

I think it would be fair to create a verb in Max's honour: to be Maxed. To be Maxed means to be enthusiastically 'assaulted' by an energetic bundle of hairy love!

I'm pretty sure Max's love is unconditional, or perhaps indiscriminate. It still feels nice - if you're not wearing your posh togs.

Walking to the shop the other day, I saw Max in the distance, and thought to myself, "Today, I do not wish to be 'Maxed'!" I wondered how I could politely avoid being pounced upon without offending him or his owner.

My concerns were unnecessary. Max was 'elsewhere'. He had found some fascinating scent along the bottom of another fence and was busy pursuing this trail. Nose down, he was blissfully unaware of anything else.

Max had found joy and freedom through single-minded focus. One thought, one purpose, one pursuit. I don't think he has many worries, but if he did, he wouldn't have been troubled at this time. His mind was absorbed.

Could you find joy and freedom in single-minded focus today? Could you make a promise to your brain that you'll come back to the other stuff it's fretting about later but in the meantime just focus enthusiastically on something lovely and absorbing?

Live life to the Max.

Lex

A Moodscope member.