German Shepherd – downtoearthpositive

Black Gold

I have the Beverly Hillbillies theme song running through my mind as of late.

“. . . and then one day he was shootin’ at some food,

& up through the ground comes a bubblin’ crude,

oil that is Black Gold, Texas Tea . . .”

It is black-raspberry season, and I love it. I know, in the song they were singing about oil being black gold, but, for now, I’ll accept raspberries!

There are a lot of good reasons to pick black raspberries:

It is relaxing —even meditative

They taste great! Yeah, some don’t make it into the house and into the oatmeal!

The view is beautiful from the garden

You find out that German Shepherds are more than watch-dogs. I mean, really? Auggie has learned all the life pleasures above and can even decipher the ripe from “not quite so ready yet!” It is definitely more fun when your dog picks berries with you!

Have a great day!

Enjoying the Adventure, (Time to pick more raspberries!)

Dr. Dink

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Please visit my other Blog: Brown Bag Letter

–a blog of stories celebrating “personal history”. You will find antique anonymous photos connected to stories people have shared with me about their grandparents and family folklore.

I encourage you to visit other bloggers at the following sites. You’ll find almost everything imaginable that can be written, in every form, from all over the world!

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Pencliff

New Focus!

I am somewhat troubled by the “being offended” theme that is constantly celebrated by the news media, on social media, in the public arena and so on.

It is all a part of the negativity of our age. Seems to me that many people are “seeking offense” and that is easy to do if you are looking for it. Human beings are more than happy to comply. And if encouraged, it is like giving a dog a treat for certain behavior, that behavior will continue.

Recently, I posted a video of my dog in a Facebook group. Evidently, she chased a groundhog into a tree. I thought it fascinating, I had no idea a groundhog could climb! Or that my pup would start ripping the bark off the tree! At the risk of sounding like a country girl, I thought it rather funny. (No blood, Groundhog safe, pretending to be a squirrel).

I’ve never had a post get so much attention so quickly, so far, there are over 180 smiley faces, wows & likes. 5 negative emoji responses and about six people telling me off for allowing this to happen. I have been accused of allowing my dog to kill future little kitty cats! And from half-way around the world, “Americans like to kill things.” Oh, and I’m training my dog to be a bully! Where the hell did that come from?

So, why am I posting this on my “Positive Blog?” To make a point. Simply that, to make a point. A few people were obviously offended by this post. That is OK, they have the right to be offended if they would like. However, what do you think I was talking about this morning concerning the responses? I was concentrating on the negative.

Ladies, have you ever noticed you could have a thousand, or eight compliments on your outfit, but if one person makes a negative comment you want to go change your clothes?
Did you ever get a comment on a paper that received an A- grade and find yourself obsessed with that comment and grade? It’s an A for goodness sake!
Oh here’s one –Try public speaking! You can shake hands with 237 people who are smiling, saying thank you and ONE comment makes you want to crawl under a chair? Or, am I the only one that hears the negative louder?

What concerns me with the current attitude being celebrated in this era is that it will just continue to grow. I think the only way to change that is by concentrating on other words, feelings and responses.

Here are some words that would be nice to celebrate:

Hero

Sympathy

Ethics

Love

Caring

Grace

Resolute

Positivity

Hero (again)

Bravery

Embrace

Joy

Laughter

In a negative world, we must strive to keep from falling into a dark hole where we find ourselves unable to get out in response to negativity. I have a challenge this week, pick a positive word each day, consider it getting out of bed, brushing your teeth, getting the kids off to school, during the rush traffic, at work . . . you get the idea! One word, one day, one encounter at a time, maybe, just maybe we can embrace a new era of attitude. You are more than welcome to add words to this list!

Enjoying the Adventure!

Dr. Dink

PS: Photo of said dog, dreaming that the squirrel would somehow miss a branch!

Project Positive 101

I’ve noticed that there is an awful lot of complaining on social media about all the negative posts many people are making. They can be upsetting or just plain annoying. There are some things that you can do to change what you see! Social media is controlled by algorithms. Please don’t ask me to explain what that is —-consider it the brain of your favorite site!!! I’m just proud of myself that I know the word.

The algorithms of various sites work together too, for instance, have you ever looked up something on Amazon & before you know it, you see that product showing up in ads on Facebook? So, here are some ideas you can do to help the algorithm understand you better –I’ll use examples and vocabulary from Facebook, adjust accordingly for other social media:

Do a slew of searches for things that you DO want to see.

Search for pages of topics that your interested in & “like” a few
Join groups of interests you have. (Can you guess that I’m in German Shepherd groups? Yes, the beauty in the photo above is Auggie, I just wish she would stay off social media, I mean, really —go outside & fetch a stick, or race a Harley or something!
Do searches on sites like Amazon & Google—-I guarantee you will start seeing similar ads & posts.

“Like” pages and posts with positive influences, or pictures of bunnies and puppy dogs, or whatever it is that makes you happy.

Unfollow Friends that constantly post Toxic Shit

Sorry, but it’s true, there are people that you truly do like, but they have gotten into a negative roll of BS. I know . . you look at the things they post & are like, “WHAT?” You really don’t have to volunteer your time, your eyes & psyche to the negativity!!!!!!
If you “unfollow” they don’t get some notification in red that says, “Guess who doesn’t want to see you on their wall anymore!” Nope, you are the only one that knows. You can still search their name every now and then to see how their dog is . .
You can also unfriend. (Oh, ouch, but are they really a friend?)

LIKE & LIKE & LIKE & HEARTS & SMILEY FACES & WOWS!

I think this is the most effective. Just let that old algorithm know what you’re interested in. Have some fun in the next few days—- look through and respond with positive signs some posts that you enjoy & even as fast as tomorrow—- you will see more like it!

I hope this helps in your quest for a more positive world. Let me know how this works for you!

Enjoying the Adventure!

Dr. Dink