Napoleon’s Wagon

Every morning when I wake up, I amble down the stairs, set the coffee to brew and take Napoleon the French bulldog out to go the bathroom. This is our routine and it’s usually executed with amazing precision. This morning started out as usual. Napoleon snorts as he trots around the yard finding the perfect spot to kick off the morning’s festivities by watering the lawn. As he settled into his usual 6 inch patch of dead grass to start act 1 of 2 this morning he noticed the lawn man’s truck. As soon as he saw that shiny green trailer attached to that Ford pickup truck, he forgot the purpose of our mission and started barking at the vacant truck.

From an outsider’s perspective, Napoleon has already won. There is not a landscaper alive that can get grass to grow in Napoleons 6″ x 12″ domain. However, this didn’t stop Napoleon from completely abandoning act 2 of our performance. Round and round the yard we went with Napoleon keeping eye contact with the big green trailer, like the familiar face of the moon staring down at earth. His large buggy eyes waiting for the lawn man to make an appearance. Unfortunately, after a few laps, we had to abandon the mission and stamp it as incomplete. Coffee had been brewed, sweet cereal had yet to be eaten and the New York Times was waiting for a set of eye balls to grace its pages. Before heading to work, we had another go with the same result. Napoleon was still fixated on the green trailer and we had to leave the morning at a 50% completion.

People usually look at their own mistakes or those of other people to learn from life’s lessons. We rarely look at all the other critters around us as a source to pull out some philosophical proverb to learn from. We don’t dwell on a kamikaze honey bee when he gives his life to sting an unsuspecting mailman making his rounds. Nor do we really dive deep into thought when seagulls abandon the tranquil Carolina Coast for a Costco parking lot. So why would we put my froggy little friend’s bathroom habits under a microscope (figuratively of course)?

It’s because he made a mistake that we are all guilty of making. Our day-to-day lives are quite similar to Napoleon’s morning. We set out in the morning with something we want to accomplish. Something worthwhile that will add substance to our day. Whether it be writing a letter to a friend, going on a refreshing run or going for a hike. We all have things that we crave to accomplish, but we lose ourselves in things that simply don’t matter. Before we know it, we have spent an hour searching the latest news sites and stalking friends-of-friends-of-friends on Facebook. Rather than writing a letter to keep up with our friend in Chile, we are keeping up with the Kardashians. We follow the shiny trailer wherever it rolls.

How can we hope to avoid this? By being mindful of where we are at different points of the day. It’s easy to lose yourself on a task and forget what you set out to do. We all do it. The key is to gain that mindfulness back and hop back on the path to the things that make us truly happy. All it takes are a few deep breaths and just putting one foot forward towards something we care about. It’s never too late in your day to reclaim it and make it your own. Just like Napoleon on his walk this afternoon, we all have our second chances.