As the fable goes, an old Indian chief had just become a Christian. After awhile he was approached by others and asked what it was like. The chief answered that it was like a fight between a black dog (representing the dark side of life) and a white dog (representing the good side of life) When asked which dogs wins, he replied “the one that you feed the most.”
So it is with my daily life. The black dog is the one that represents the negative things that are happening in my life. If I dwell on those things then I inevitably will spiral down and become very negative in my focus and attitude. On the other hand, if I focus on the blessings in my life I am uplifted and grateful. That is easier said than done, isn’t it?
The last six months have been some of the most trying times that I have ever had in my business life. The weather has been nothing short of terrible and roping came to a standstill until recently. Like many of us I have been enduring the “winter without end” with dark gloomy skies virtually every day. All in all it has been a test of my faith and a test on what dog to feed. Unfortunately I have to confess that it has been far too easy for me to feed that black dog and have a negative unthankful attitude. This to shall pass is the mantra that I have been telling myself daily.
Inevitably spring and summer will come along and (Lord willing) my life will improve. However, the question of which dog to feed is a conscious one that I have to make many times a day. It is one of faith. God has told me that He is for me and not against me in the Bible. He has good plans for me…also in the Bible. He has said that in this world we will have tribulation (that has to be the biggest understatement that I have ever seen) but to be of good cheer for He has overcome the world. There are countless other scriptures that encourage faith. Just writing them encourages me. That is an example of feeding the white dog. We are promised tribulation but we are also promised divine help and intervention. It’s quite the battle.
Team roping is a wonderful metaphor for daily life. Some days when you back into the box all goes well and you win or place. Some days no matter how hard you try, it does not work out. However, as my friend Mike Angelini has pointed out on many occasions, we are very blessed to even be in the arena chasing steers and competing on such a nice day. Mike has picked some strategic times to remind me of this fact and it works for me. I reflect on the fun that we are having. I reflect on the fact that I have some great horses that are pretty easy keepers. I look at my new horse trailer and fairly new Ford dually and realize that I have been blessed in many ways. I need to feed that white dog because I have a lot to feed him on a daily basis. So do you.
I recently attended two funerals. One of them was for a guy that was younger than me and one of them was for someone that was quite a bit older. I am sure this is not an unusual thing to experience for some of the older ones that are reading RSN. At the older man’s funeral I saw people that I had not seen in over 50 years. Believe me that will make you realize your age. I realized that I am fortunate to even be riding a horse let alone team roping. At the younger man’s funeral I realized the obvious; that God had allowed me to keep going and keep roping and keep enjoying life. Part of enjoying life, for me, is writing this column. I have many, many more things to be grateful for. Really, too much to list here. I do not have an absence of food for the white dog. My hunch is that you don’t either. Be grateful, enjoy God, rope great.
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Bob Ow lives in Ferndale, California on the northern coast. He and his wife Jo Anna, own a small 5 acre ranch and two really good rope horses. Bob is an independent financial advisor (which pays for his roping expenses), and an elder at a Ferndale Community Church.