The Moral of A Good Story

Winter is approaching, fall has well and truly arrived. This morning as I attempted to write, I could feel the pull to get the dog out for a walk. She, Prim, has a schedule. We leave for our walk between 7:30 am and 7:45 of 8 am. As the clock seconds tick past 7:30 am, I always feel her angst building, or maybe it is mine. I wanted to write, but I gave up telling myself I would write when we arrived back.

As I prepared to go, I went to start a book to listen to as we walked and realized I could and should check in for my flight tomorrow. This slow going process meant going to my computer, my ID, then confirming through many steps and finally complete. Then came the "add to wallet" which I attempted. As I put shoes on, waiting on the success, I remembered to look for the book. I remembered I needed to remove Prim's excrement from the grass. I remembered I should find my gloves. I remembered I should bring more wood in for the stove. All the while I had given Prim a little freedom in the yard.  

Then the door bell rang and here is my neighbor with Prim - she had kept herself around the yard as I moved through these various tasks, but when she saw him, of course she went to greet him. I finally stepped out ready. Now Prim had gotten off and ran toward my neighbors house. They compost in their garden. I ran after Prim, finally catching up with her and starting our walk. She pulled and tugged on the leash and that was the end for me. 

I came in and started this post. 
The problem is not the walk. The problem was not even the dog. The problem for me was the feeling pushed and pulled, dragged around by the mound of responsibility rather than by something I wanted. I want a life where I get to do something from a place of inspiration, not obligation. 
So I will follow up on my obligation to get her out for a walk. I will actually start clocking my exercise because my watch tells me I need to get 90 min of exercise every day. But I will consider... what activity, what thing can I do today that will actually fill my cup with joy and enjoyment? I hope you do the same.