Frankie

Isn't he just gorgeous! He lives next door and is sooo quiet! Obviously not a breed that barks! But he is as his demeanour suggests, very determined! I hear him being told off when he has taken something he shouldn't, and one day as his male owner was packing the car ready for a camping trip he got into position in the well of the passenger seat and would not come out! No way was he being left behind! 
I had been cutting down the Fatsia in my front garden when he was being taken for a walk. He waited very patiently as I chatted to his female owner and I seized the opportunity to ask if I could photograph him - I've been dying to do so! Interestingly she uses one of the same meditation apps as me, and has a young nephew who takes photos, but although she says he is really good he won't do anything with what he takes, having very low self-esteem. Apparently he lost his dad at 17 and later his partner up and left with his son - each time they track her down and try to establish contact she ups and moves again. The nephew has depression and panic attacks. I told her about the apps I used and she asked  if I  would write them down for her. 
So many people struggling in one way or another. I'm reading Matt Haig's The Humans at the moment about the beauty of being human. He thought of writing the story in 2000 when he was suffering from panic disorder. The main character is an alien who comes to value the way humans live, the complexity of life and when looks at how we live, the bizarre way we do so. 
My daily meditation with the Calm app often focuses on gratitude, on recognising all the beauty and wonder of our everyday lives from having clean air and water to a beautiful sunset. It's good to remind oneself of all the things to be grateful for instead of getting tunnel vision of all the bad things in one's life and the world. 
Today I'm grateful for having nice neighbours with a handsome dog!