Dear Hope Has a Cold Nose readers,

“Dog Lessons for People – Be loyal and faithful. Play every day. Drink lots of water. Forgive quickly. Avoid biting when a growl will do. Sit close & listen. Follow your instincts. Give more than you receive. Take naps. Be a best friend. Love unconditionally.” – Author Unknown

If you have read the acknowledgments in the last pages of Hope Has a Cold Nose, then you were able to learn about how, on the journey of co-creating HHCN with twenty-three authors, I was led to many wonderful organizations who are each honoring the call to serve others in need – both human souls and those souls wrapped in fur.  The blessings of my path intersecting with extraordinary organizations has not stopped now that HHCN is published.  Most recently I was interviewed for a podcast by the Doggy Diva Show that will air Saturday, March 13^th.   To learn more about what – I should say – who – inspired the creation of the Doggy Diva Show, please visit https://www.thedoggydiva.com.    I will simply say, never underestimate the smallest of beings to cast the biggest ripples of positive change.  Dear Sophia made her story matter when another dear soul heard her cry for help, and together they created a way to give purpose to a story that began in heartache and ended with great unconditional love. 

Recently I saw a visual post on social media that displayed a person holding up a plywood board to display a section of grass beneath it not buried by snow.  The picture further showed a chihuahua standing on the grass and the caption was related to an idea people could create something similar so that their dogs would not hate going outside for their restroom breaks in deep snow.   As I was preparing to scroll past this picture I saw one person’s comment that read I don’t think dogs have hate in their make-up…

I started thinking about Ginger and Kutana over these past couple of weeks as we, like so many others, experienced frigid temperatures, and continual falling snow.  Ginger likes her heat.  Completely covered under a blanket or basking in the warmth of the summer sunshine outside, or, as I am writing this, having her sister lay completely on top of her, is her ideas of heaven.  Well, maybe not the sister laying completely on top of her part, though her eyes closed and her soft snoring tells me she sees it as a gateway to happiness.  

Now Kutana, on the other hand, whose lean body should be the one to signal to her eager spirit um, nope, we don’t need to go outside and bounce into drifted snow head first, can’t wait for the temperature to reach an acceptable level to safely go outside.  Is it time?  Is it time now?  Mom, do you hear that?  Outside wants me to come run, hike, and play?  Outside wants me to dive head first into that snow drift RIGHT OVER THERE!  Can we now, please?!  PRETTY PLEASE!  Unlike her big sister Ginger who demonstrates an impeccable braking system at the doorway when her initial desire to go outside is met with the rush of cold air, Kutana seems to find a renewed energy to that burst of refreshing take your breath away air.

Kutana seems to run to her coat I hold in my hands.  Well, maybe run is a tad exaggeration, but she certainly does not resist.  There is no slight head hang that seems to communicate aww, shucks mom do I have to?   She does not communicate with her body that her pink fluffy coat makes her look silly or that she is too grown up for such frills.   It is her hall pass to outside, and outside matters far more than any risk her mom dresses her funny in front of the birds and squirrels. 

Ginger, on the other hand, is a very good communicator with her body that very clearly lets me know her orange coat makes her look less like the royalty she is certain that she is.  My dear Ginger is a girl after my own heart when it comes to a little bit of stubbornness, and there is no misunderstanding on my part in her decision to show me a little bit of her essence when I reach for that orange coat.  Now, granted, if she has had any preview to what awaits her outside, then in her mind, the orange coat I am holding is a hall pass, straight to the detention room.  And she has no problem deciding to become immovable weight on her ottoman when I am trying to adorn her in her orange attire. 

Yet, to the comment the individual stated on social media, Ginger has always read my heart to know that if I am insisting that she goes outside, it is for her own health and well-being.  She may not appreciate colder weather over her ideals of warmth, but in addition to her essence of a stubborn streak, her very core is unconditional love.  Her heart does not know hate.  Nor does Kutana’s. 

I was in recent dialogue with someone and our conversation turned to this sentiment.  If you start from a good place in your heart, then even if the conversation you need to have with someone else is a tough conversation to have, you will be honoring the reason your paths have intersected.  You will be the messenger the person needed for that individual to then make a choice in how they wish to respond, learn, and potentially grow.

By “good place in the heart”, I think of things like non-judgment, unconditional listening, compassion, empathy, generosity, gratitude, joy, and kindness.  I have this perspective.  We are souls in human form who are giving our lifetimes to grow in our experiences with these “good place in the heart” things.  We are also given the capacity to fear, to feel anxious, to be frustrated, to hurt, to know anger, to grieve, to know unimaginable loss.   We are given lessons in which we learn such tools as bravery, vulnerability, determination, perseverance, resilience.   And in every choice that we make through every experience we have, we choose to step closer towards conditional empathy or conditional kindness, or closer towards unconditional compassion or unconditional love. 

Where are you at in the steps on your journey?

I hope your path finds you closer to unconditional.

As recipient.

And as giver.

What if others could say of us, I don’t think that person has conditional in their make-up…

Together we are all on a journey called life. We are a little broken and a little shattered inside. Each one of us is aspiring to make it to the end. None is deprived of pain here and we have all suffered in our own ways. I think our journey is all about healing ourselves and healing each other in our own special ways. Let’s just help each other put all those pieces back together and make it to the end more beautifully. Let us help each other survive. ~ Ram Dass

I hold the intention that wellbeing keeps you in safekeep.

Sincerely,

-Christine

My gratitude to Connecting Vets for their support of the power of hope!

https://www.radio.com/connectingvets/news/veterans-share-stories-of-how-dogs-provide-hope-in-new-book

My gratitude to We Are the Mighty for their support of the power of hope!

https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-culture/service-dogs-trauma-book-review/

My gratitude to Southern Living for their support of the power of hope! 

https://www.southernliving.com/news/hope-has-a-cold-nose-service-dogs-military-veterans-ptsd

For an engaging webinar facilitated by Dr. Alan Westfield, with sharing by Dr. Adrian Popa, Michael Ortiz, Taylor Rowell, and me, please click on the link below:  

Listening, Empathy, Awareness & Dignity: LEADership Through Storytelling & Companionship

https://www.gonzaga.edu/school-of-leadership-studies/news-events/leadership-through-storytelling-and-companionship

To purchase Hope Has a Cold Nose:

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=christine+hassing&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Barnes and Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hope-has-a-cold-nose-christine-hassing/1137781095?ean=9781982255282

Balboa Press:

https://www.balboapress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/811622-hope-has-a-cold-nose

or you can contact me: https://christinehassing.com/contact/

For additional impactful and powerful information regarding the healing impact of service dogs, please visit https://www.northwestbattlebuddies.org/a-vision-of-hope/.    

Dear Hope Has a Cold Nose readers,

Every child is born in the garden of humanity as a flower.  Each flower differs from every other flower.  There are many messages in our society that tell us, even when we’re young people, that there’s something wrong with us and that if we just buy the right product, or look a certain way, or have the right partner, that will fix it.  As grown-ups, we can remind young people that they’re already beautiful as they are; they don’t have to be someone else.  – Thich Nhat Hanh in How to Love. 

I am humbled, honored, and grateful that Hope Has a Cold Nose is being shared to high school students at a local community north of where I live as well as to third grade children in the school district I attended when I was growing up.   Young lives being positively influenced by service for others, wisdom, resilience, and hope exhibited in each of the co-authors’ stories.  

On one of the morning runs with Ginger and Kutana, I was reflecting on this special ripple that is taking place in which the stories of Hope Has a Cold Nose can inspire those who are still at a most impressionable age in comparison to those of us as adults who still form impressions, but who have already banked within ourselves a significant number of imprints that impact how we see and hear. 

Ginger and Kutana have beautiful cold noses.  And.  They have very powerful noses that create moments in which they might go a tad astray on our runs.   Suddenly.   Now with Ginger the only ramification is my voice calling her back from what we affectionally call “chasing the bears”.  Not bears, literally.  Please don’t worry.   Ginger has this routine in the mornings when my husband leaves for work in which she insists she must exit the door before him and bark in all directions of our yard as to ward off anything – or anyone – she is certain is lurking to get my husband if she does not make sure it is safe for him.   After all, that racoon in a tree might just climb down and get her dad!  {smile} My husband and I refer to her gesture as “chasing the bears away”. 

So, if a sudden whiff to Ginger’s nose sends her into a run and or bark mode, she gets called back with an assuring voice that all is safe.  Now Kutana, on the other hand, is the silent one.  No barking.  The only ramification is to my rib cage and a rapid readjustment of my footsteps in the middle of our run.  Why my rib cage?  Kutana and I are joined with a waist leash because, as Kutana’s trainer once told me, she has an almost intuitive like nose.  It can smell things that none of us can see, let alone smell.  And dear K is also very driven when she gets something on her mind.  Translation.  The ears turn off when the determination kicks in.  If she were not leashed with me, she would not hear the hark to come back right away.    

I do have a tiny bit of influence to avoid where these rich aromas are when we are running in mother nature.  I can steer us to certain trails so minimize where the night critters have walked before us.  I also strive to use positive reinforcement.  Good girls.   Good, good girls!  That’s my girls!  I am so proud of you!  The bears, racoons, deer, and owls hear echoing through the woods as they watch two reflective coats lower to the ground and a headlamp running through their homes.   (We typically run before daylight.) 

Ginger conveys her I am? Yay!  Thanks mom.  Okay, I’ll keep doing this with a turned head, smile, and this little footstep dance I cannot begin to describe as she goes into a happy trot.  Kutana, still an eager puppy in learning gives me the hmmm. what?  You want something else? No?  Oh, you mean do what we are doing right here.  Ok, if you say so.  Her tail raised high in pride, she turns her head back around and forward we go on the trail. 

On the flip hand are their responses if they hear No!   In addition to those beautiful cold noses are taste buds for mother nature that I am so grateful I do not have like dogs do!  (smile) If these “discovering” moments happen for what the girls believe is cavier calling to them, Ginger puts her ears back in a way that is a blend of sorry mom and you ruined the potential fun mom.   Kutana hangs her ears down in a way that communicates ooohh, mom is not happy with that little move I just tried to make, I guess I better listen.   

What we say, and how we say it, in response to the moments that are teachable. 

Which is every moment we live.  At least how I choose to believe.

Recently I had the privilege of providing happy birthday wishes through video to a friend’s daughter who was turning thirteen.  Her mom – my friend – had invited a large group of people to post messages on a private social media page so that her daughter would receive a big celebration for this milestone birthday since an in-person celebration was not possible.   My focus in the message was on all the ways this amazing young soul is going to help the world transform.  I have already been witnessing her do so and I am certain she has only just begun to make a positive impact. 

What message are we providing to young lives regarding the pandemic and all that our world has experienced over the past twelve months?  Are we communicating that these fledgling souls have chosen to enter this lifetime when they have so that they can be the change agents for our world’s transformation?   

Or are we focusing them on all that they have lost? 

Are we holding tightly to what was, fearful that because children did not experience life as we did, the future is destined to not be as promising? 

Or are we fostering in youth that the sky is the limit for them and that the old systems that are not working as they did are crumbling so that the youth can create new systems that are calling to be built even better than what we have known or experienced? 

On the journey of writing Hope Has a Cold Nose my path intersected with a veteran who was a peer support specialist for other veterans.   He shared about a research study he had read in which individuals who had struggled significantly with pain, trauma, sorrow, or despair were individuals who had also experienced a traumatic event as a child but had not been able to process that event in a positive healing way.   

All that 2020 held introduced a traumatic event.  

For adults and youth both.

We need to honor the grief.  That is part of the positive healing journey. 

Yet, in what we say, and how we say it, are we fostering positive healing and new beginnings? 

Are we creating hope?

If you want to change the world, you have to change the metaphor – Joseph Campbell

May wellbeing continue to be yours. 

Sincerely,

-Christine

My gratitude to Connecting Vets for their support of the power of hope!

https://www.radio.com/connectingvets/news/veterans-share-stories-of-how-dogs-provide-hope-in-new-book

My gratitude to We Are the Mighty for their support of the power of hope!

https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-culture/service-dogs-trauma-book-review/

My gratitude to Southern Living for their support of the power of hope! 

https://www.southernliving.com/news/hope-has-a-cold-nose-service-dogs-military-veterans-ptsd

For an engaging webinar facilitated by Dr. Alan Westfield, with sharing by Dr. Adrian Popa, Michael Ortiz, Taylor Rowell, and me, please click on the link below:  

Listening, Empathy, Awareness & Dignity: LEADership Through Storytelling & Companionship

https://www.gonzaga.edu/school-of-leadership-studies/news-events/leadership-through-storytelling-and-companionship

To purchase Hope Has a Cold Nose:

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=christine+hassing&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Barnes and Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hope-has-a-cold-nose-christine-hassing/1137781095?ean=9781982255282

Balboa Press:

https://www.balboapress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/811622-hope-has-a-cold-nose

or you can contact me: https://christinehassing.com/contact/

For additional impactful and powerful information regarding the healing impact of service dogs, please visit https://www.northwestbattlebuddies.org/a-vision-of-hope/.    

https://www.hopehasacoldnose.com/,

https://studio.youtube.com/video/VD5a8wnL1sI/edit

Christine Hassing | Facebook

Christine Hassing (@ChrisHassing) / Twitter

Christine Hassing (@hassingchristine) • Instagram photos and videos

Dear Hope Has a Cold Nose readers,

Once upon no time there was a Little Soul who said…” I know who I am!” …And the Little Soul shouted, “I’m the Light!”

But soon, knowing who it was not enough.  The Little Soul felt stirrings inside, and now wanted to be who it was.

… “being the Light is being special, and being special has a lot of parts to it.  It is special to be kind.  It is special to be gentle.  It is special to be creative.  It is special to be patient…Can you think of any other ways it is special to be?” The Little Soul sat quietly for a moment.  “I can think of lots of ways to be special!” the Little Soul then exclaimed.  “It is special to be helpful.  It is special to be sharing.  It is special to be friendly.  It is special to be considerate of others!” …That’s what is means to be the Light.”

“I know what I want to be, I know what I want to be!” the Little Soul announced with great excitement.  “I want to be the part of special called ‘forgiving’

…just then a Friendly Soul stepped forward from the crowd.  “Not to worry, Little Soul,” the Friendly Soul said, “I will help you.”  …the Little Soul brightened.  “But what can you do?”  “Why, I can give you someone to forgive!”  “You can?”  “Certainly!” chirped the Friendly Soul.  “I can come into your next lifetime and do something for you to forgive.”

“But why?  Why would you do that?” the Little Soul asked…What could cause you to want to slow down your vibration to such a speed that your bright Light would become dark and dense?  What could cause you—who are so light that you dance upon the stars and move throughout the Kingdom with the speed of your thought—to come into my life and make yourself so heavy that you could do this bad thing?”  “Simple,” the Friendly Soul said.  “I would do it because I love you.”

“And so,” the Friendly Soul explained a little further, “I will come into your next lifetime and be the ‘bad one’ this time.  I will do something really terrible, and then you can experience yourself as the One Who Forgives.”

Then the Friendly Soul seemed to turn serious, and said in a quiet voice… I have but one favor to ask of you in return.” 

“In the moment that I strike you and smite you,” the Friendly Soul replied, “in the moment that I do the worst to you that you could possible imagine—in that very moment… The Friendly Soul became quieter still.  “Remember Who I Really Am.”  – Neale Donald Walsch, from The Little Soul and the Sun

On New Year’s Eve I wrote about that inner whisper that urged me to write a post the last day of 2020.  Once again, that inner whisper nudged not to wait for the end of January.  Perhaps it is because I am wondering what each of the co-authors would wisely share with me if I was writing the continuation of their stories since they and I last co-created what you now read in Hope Has a Cold Nose.  I wonder what they would say about the continued evolution the United States is going through.    

Or perhaps that inner whisper is nudging me to write because in that dance of grace between opposites each of us are experiencing daily, if not hourly or moment by moment, my heart feels called to hold tightly to the preserver of hope that it may counter the hopelessness I perceive many others feel is floating in the waters around them right now. 

Or maybe it is a simple as I feel joy in writing when that whisper nudges, for I have come to know that if I listen there will be at least one sentence in what I have written that touches and inspires one person’s heart at the “right time”.   And that brings me the greatest joy if I can inspire someone else who may be in need of

Hope.

A couple of days ago Kutana and I were sharing one of our near daily experiences in which she sits beside me, reaches out at least one of her paws in her cat impersonation gesture, and proceeds to pull – very strongly at that – my arm or my hand to her.   Sometimes I get her endearment of love gesture, too, as she manages to pull one of my fingers into her mouth to nibble it very softly.  Now this is where you might question that it is a love gesture.  I can assure you there is no skin puncture or even a remnant tooth dent.  Since a puppy it has been like a pacifier to her to be able to occasionally grab for a finger.   Anyway.  She was pulling my arm, and we were dancing that familiar Just a moment K which seems to be heard by her pull my arm more K. 

This time instead of seeing Kutana asking for what she needed, I recognized she was a messenger providing what I needed.   I had additional to-do’s awaiting me that I needed to complete by a certain time.   In the moment Kutana was pulling my arm, I was sidetracked and had the risk of shifting energy from easy-going on-time to scrambling not to be late.  Just as the co-authors in Hope Has a Cold Nose share about the “knowing” of their hope with fur and cold noses, Kutana was guiding me.  It was not her needs she was looking out for.  It was mine. 

Unconditional.

Wisdom.

Hearing without words.

Over these past few days, the words that keep running through my mind the loudest are people just want to be heard. 

That and everyone one of us are responsible.

We can listen from a place of you and I and them and us.  We can communicate our perspective with as much conviction in what we believe as the person(s) we vehemently disagree with their perspective, not recognizing that we are not on opposing sides.   Both they and us are coming from the exact same place.  Both wish to be heard and valued for what we believe. 

One is the Little Soul, and one is the Friendly Soul who are fulfilling an agreement.

Made from unconditional love.

As souls.

A few years ago, someone very instrumental in Hope Has a Cold Nose coming to be taught me a very powerful tool about the power of choice.  In this teaching, he also utilized a quote by Victor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor and author of Man’s Search for Meaning, who wrote:  Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.  

Life may bring us much we cannot control.  We have complete control to choose our response.

To this place within the gap where we need to stand in order to move things forward.  How do we stand there?  What do we do to stand there?  We have to reach deep inside ourselves.  We have to practice the powers that open the heart, that open the mind…that invite the soul into being.  Parker Palmer – Standing in the Tragic Gap (March 2009)

To see that underneath our beliefs, our histories, our values, and our passions

We are the same.

May you and those you hold dearly continue to be held tightly in wellbeing.   May hope walk beside every step you take.   Namaste’

If you pour a handful of salt into a cup of water, the water becomes undrinkable.  But if you pour the salt into the river, people can continue to draw the water to cook, wash, and drink.  The river is immense, and it has the capacity to receive, embrace, and transform.  When are hearts are small, our understanding and compassion are limited, and we suffer.  We can’t accept or tolerate others and their shortcomings, and we demand that they change.  But when our hearts expand, these same things don’t make us suffer anymore.  We have a lot of understanding and compassion and can embrace others.  We accept others as they are, and then they have a chance to transform.  So the big question is, how do we help our hearts to grow?  – Thich Nhat Hanh

Sincerely,

-Christine

My gratitude to We Are the Mighty for their support of the power of hope!

https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-culture/service-dogs-trauma-book-review/

My gratitude to Southern Living for their support of the power of hope! 

https://www.southernliving.com/news/hope-has-a-cold-nose-service-dogs-military-veterans-ptsd

For an engaging webinar facilitated by Dr. Alan Westfield, with sharing by Dr. Adrian Popa, Michael Ortiz, Taylor Rowell, and me, please click on the link below:  

Listening, Empathy, Awareness & Dignity: LEADership Through Storytelling & Companionship

https://www.gonzaga.edu/school-of-leadership-studies/news-events/leadership-through-storytelling-and-companionship

To purchase Hope Has a Cold Nose:

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=christine+hassing&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Barnes and Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hope-has-a-cold-nose-christine-hassing/1137781095?ean=9781982255282

Balboa Press:

https://www.balboapress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/811622-hope-has-a-cold-nose

or you can contact me: https://christinehassing.com/contact/

For additional impactful and powerful information regarding the healing impact of service dogs, please visit https://www.northwestbattlebuddies.org/a-vision-of-hope/.     

https://www.hopehasacoldnose.com/,

https://christinehassing.com/

https://studio.youtube.com/video/VD5a8wnL1sI/edit

Christine Hassing | Facebook

Christine Hassing (@ChrisHassing) / Twitter

Christine Hassing (@hassingchristine) • Instagram photos and videos

Dear Hope Has a Cold Nose readers,

We often wait for a miracle or an extraordinary event, not realizing that we are being given more than the ordinary in the simplicity of each day. A person facing loss starts to see beauty where their eyes and their heart were clouded by a to-do list or by a sense tomorrow is always guaranteed. When their perspective shifts, what begins to matter most is what someone else still takes for granted. To watch a sunset—to really watch a sunset—is nothing short of beautiful and extraordinary…If we choose to see. – Christine Hassing, To the Moon and Back to Me:  What I Learned from Four Running Feet

Though a Hope Has a Cold Nose update was already shared for December, I kept hearing that inner whisper, write an update as we stand in the last day of this year.    Not one to ignore that inner whisper for I have come to learn it carries wisdom, I write with this intention.  As you stand at the doorway of 2020 and prepare to take a step down the hall to the door marked 2021, may you find inspiration, peace, or hope – or a combination of all three – in the words you are about to read. 

On Christmas Eve my mom sent a text to my sister and I recommending that we listen to a new song released recently by Dolly Parton, I Still Believe.   The lyrics include these words:

I believe there’s a day and it’s coming soon

We will unmask this face of doom

Walk hand in hand in perfect harmony

And I believe there are good deeds to be sowed

Nurtured with love to make them grow

I believe that faith can heal our bodies’ minds and souls

Yes, that’s what I believe – Dolly Parton, “I Still Believe” lyrics, 2020

Among my reactions to this song, I was struck with the viewpoint that Dolly Parton was sharing her perspective, but she was not pushing her beliefs.   She was planting a seed for those who might benefit from the words she felt called to sing.  

Perhaps I was reacting to this song this way because of a seed that had been planted within me just days prior.  Actually, maybe it wasn’t so much a seed that had been planted within me as it was a gentle mirror held up as a reminder to walk the talk of my words meet people where they are at, not where we are at.  

I had been in conversation with someone very dear in my life and we were talking about a conversation universal to many this year.  What the holidays would be and not be compared to history and past traditions.   At a certain point, this individual spoke a wisdom, I guess it comes down to each person needs to make and find peace with what is, each in their own way.   We can offer suggestions, but we cannot make someone else feel differently than they do.    

Another dance of grace between opposites.  One the one side of the pendulum swing, as I believe, is how each of us are students and teachers for one another.  When we fully show up as ourselves, we fulfill the reason our paths intersect with others we meet on our life journeys.  Fully showing up does not mean that the interaction is conflict free.  It means that we are honoring the reason our paths are meant to cross, and we are giving each other the freedom of choice in responding, and the gift of choice in what we each decide to learn.  On the other side of the pendulum swing is knowing when to listen to listen and when to listen to speak.  When should we listen without speaking because the other individual only needs us to listen?  And when should we listen to speak because we may have the “exact” words someone else needs in that moment. 

Yes, indeed, the dance of grace between opposites.  

My heart empathizes with many who cannot leave the doorway of 2020 soon enough.  I know there has been significant loss felt by many.  Because I am also one who believes in giving purpose to loss, I have made the choice this year to look for the gifts…to look for each 86,400 moments in a day that have offered what I like to call a golden nugget.  

I think of Christmas morning and the walk I took first with Kutana and then secondly with Ginger.  Usually, I take both together for our runs and walks, but on days that my husband does not have to work, Ginger likes to curl up with him and Kutana likes to greet Nature early. 

Kutana and I greeted a fresh blanket of snow before daylight, using the snow as our beacon of light to see our trail.   Kutana, myself, the sound of wind, and the even more peaceful sound of Nature’s quietude.   After our walk we stopped at the window of my parents, each offering the other virtual hugs, kisses, and Merry Christmas exclamations.   Kutana sat beside me, her joyous energy, and her desire to be a “good girl” her dance of grace between opposites.   Her compromise was to sit with her tail making its own version of a snow angel as her eyes and her body eagerly communicated hello, I am so happy to see you, and I love you.  

A couple of hours later after breakfast, Ginger and I took our walk.   Daylight was now the beacon on our path, accompanied still by the wind and Nature’s peace.  Again, we paused at the window of my parents.   This time I placed treats on the windowsill, and “Grammy” (my mom) prepared to hand one to Ginger as Ginger sang her song that she does which communicated her version of hello, I am so happy to see you, and I love you.  

We often wait for a miracle or an extraordinary event, not realizing that we are being given more than the ordinary in the simplicity of each day…To watch a sunset—to really watch a sunset—is nothing short of beautiful and extraordinary…If we choose to see.    Fully present with the moments that life brings, choosing to see a day entrenched in traditions with new eyes, and through the eyes of unconditional love that sees this day as special as every day.   Gratitude for health and well-being of family and touched by the beauty of love that transcends distance and space.  

Among the many gifts I’ve been given in 2020, I have found a deeper appreciation for what is in front of me.  A warmer winter day and the opportunity to sit outside on my mom’s porch drinking hot chocolate has become more meaningful than the tradition we implemented a few years ago to share breakfast or lunch together one day every other week.  Please do not misunderstand that I think less of those times.  On the contrary, this year has added value to those experiences and memories.  Yet, I found myself more present with sitting on the porch, drinking in the shared time as a sacred gift to hold gently, not thinking about the next to-do’s, not thinking about what I would make in two weeks when it was my turn to cook breakfast or lunch.   The time was now, and now was all I needed to fill my soul with joy, gratitude, and love.  

Note to self.  Dear Ginger and Kutana, I think I’m starting to learn a tiny fraction of what you teach me every day.

I was handed additional gifts this week in very kind and gracious words shared with me about the tears that have been shed reading stories in Hope Has a Cold Nose.   In these kind words has also been the gift of hearing about the readers’ increased aware nesses.   Both readers are civilians, and now they have an increased understanding, and an increased empathy.  I am grateful for how these extraordinary stories have yet again positively touched hearts and lives.

Next year promises 31,536,000 moments to the calendar.    How these moments get filled up is a choice each of us will make for ourselves.   My intention includes that I will continue to be more fully present with what is, seeing the moments I am given as extraordinary where perhaps I once took for granted what was being offered to me.   May I not go back to sleep. 

My wish is that each of you will find through these twenty-three extraordinary authors in Hope Has a Cold Nose the hope, resilience, and inspiration you need to flourish in joy, peace, and love on the other side of the door marked 2021.   Blessings to each of you and those you hold most dear.

Don’t Go Back to Sleep

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.

Don’t go back to sleep.

You must ask for what you really want.

Don’t go back to sleep.

People are going back and forth

Across the doorsill

Where the two worlds touch.

The door is round and open.

Don’t go back to sleep.

-Rumi

Sincerely,

-Christine

My gratitude to We Are the Mighty for their support of the power of hope!

https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-culture/service-dogs-trauma-book-review/

My gratitude to Southern Living for their support of the power of hope! 

https://www.southernliving.com/news/hope-has-a-cold-nose-service-dogs-military-veterans-ptsd

For an engaging webinar facilitated by Dr. Alan Westfield, with sharing by Dr. Adrian Popa, Michael Ortiz, Taylor Rowell, and me, please click on the link below:  

Listening, Empathy, Awareness & Dignity: LEADership Through Storytelling & Companionship

https://www.gonzaga.edu/school-of-leadership-studies/news-events/leadership-through-storytelling-and-companionship

To purchase Hope Has a Cold Nose:

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=christine+hassing&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Barnes and Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hope-has-a-cold-nose-christine-hassing/1137781095?ean=9781982255282

Balboa Press:

https://www.balboapress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/811622-hope-has-a-cold-nose

or you can contact me: https://christinehassing.com/contact/

Feel free to contact me with any comments or questions.  I welcome exchanging in dialogue with you.  I can be reached by visiting https://www.hopehasacoldnose.com/, https://christinehassing.com/ or you can email me at ckhred30@gmail.com

P.S.  For additional impactful and powerful information regarding the healing impact of service dogs, please visit https://www.northwestbattlebuddies.org/a-vision-of-hope/.     

Dear Hope Has a Cold Nose readers,

One of the most satisfying experiences I know is just fully to appreciate an individual in the same way I appreciate a sunset.  When I look at a sunset…I don’t find myself saying “soften the orange a little on the right hand corner, and put a little more purple in the cloud cover”…I don’t try to control a sunset.  I watch it with awe as it unfolds.  It is this open, receptive attitude which is necessary to truly perceive something as it is.  – Carl Rogers

Ginger and Kutana.  Fur and cold noses that complete home, and our hearts.  Ginger entered our lives when my heart needed unconditional acceptance of its sorrows.  She gladly stepped into that role, and found healing for her own grieving, too.  Ginger matches the rhythm of my soul that finds itself inspired when in stillness and quietude.  When I am in nature or in silence, I am often my most creative.   Ginger’s calm and soft disposition holds the space for this tranquility.  Kutana entered our lives destined to awaken the child within each of us.  Her curiosity and her joy are infectious in the best kind of ways.  Well, at least most of the time when puppyhood isn’t too much in the driver’s seat.  {smile}  

When Ginger, Kutana, and I are on one of our morning runs, a collar light is not needed for Ginger.  Her white and tan fur shine as a beacon of light on behalf of the glow of the moon and the twinkle of the stars.  If I do not see Kutana’s eyes reflected against my headlamp, I do not see Kutana.  She moves as the last remnants of night move before daybreak.   At one with the darkness, she messages that nightfall is not a barrier to seeing next steps.

We learn best through opposites and how well we dance in the middle is our grace.  I am blessed with two great opposite teachers in fur who continual educate me in how to be with the ebbs and flows of the river of life. 

If I didn’t already have reason to be in awe of these teachers in fur, I marvel at their capability to continually see with new eyes.   On our morning runs and evening walks we follow trail loops.   Each time we are on a path we have been before, both Ginger and Kutana explore the trail as if it is the first time they are experiencing it.  A day apart, hours apart, minutes apart.  The lapse in time not important.  Each moment is a new moment that holds the promise of new smells and new things to see. 

Recently I had a moment in which I had gotten in my own way, so to speak, with what I was feeling from an interaction with someone I hold very dear.  Instead of seeing from the other person’s perspective, I looked through the lens of my childhood emotions.  Instead of letting go and letting be, I held tightly to history.   In the moment, history felt safer.  I wanted to rally against the certainty of change to keep close the certainty of what had been.   Like the running trail, I was traveling a circle of life, only I was struggling to see with new eyes as Ginger and Kutana would.  

In that moment I was struggling to unconditionally accept.    Ginger and Kutana lean in fully.  To what they are experiencing.  To unconditional acceptance.  To love.    They meet my husband and I everyday where we are it in what we are feeling and in what we are thinking, and they do not ask anything of us except to be allowed to love us exactly as we are.   Ok, sure, they also ask for food, water, and time outside.  And cuddling.  They also like cuddling.  {smile} Their main request of us is…love.  To be recipients of and to give in the purest, most unconditional, form there is.

This interaction with someone I hold dear gave me pause to think about the twenty-three extraordinary co-authors in Hope Has a Cold Nose.   I thought about how hard it is for us as humans to not “get in our own way” when we are interacting with others, to not bring our histories and our fears into what we feel or how we are listening to what the other person is saying.  I reflected on the wisdom in these stories about how meaningful it is to the co-authors that the service dogs offer such significant non-judgment.    Listening ears, open heart, acceptance.   

These co-authors are buoyed up during the hard moments by their service dogs for many reasons including they know their service dogs depend on and are counting on them.  Yet, these co-authors do not fear their service dogs will verbally speak words that are filled with expectations, shoulds, and should nots – i.e., words that each of us as humans speak that contain conditions that meet our own needs and not just the needs of the person we interact with. 

Individuals are struggling to be heard.  What if all of us paused speaking for a moment?   Instead of the world growing silent, perhaps we would hear more.

Individuals are struggling to be seen.  What if all of us turned 360 degrees where we stood and looked with new eyes?   Instead of staying in place, perhaps we would take leaps forward.

Last month I communicated how I believe that the extraordinary stories in Hope Has a Cold Nose will inspire more than hope for twenty-two lives a day.  I believe these stories will inspire hope for anyone who is struggling with pain, trauma, sorrow, despair, or grief.   Recently I have been thinking a lot about children ages seven or eight to their early twenties.  The specific age bracket not as important as my thought about how there is a generation of youth who are receiving their significant traumatic moment with all that has transpired this year 2020.  

These youth have moved enough past childlike wonder and innocence and have gained enough experience to feel a profound sense of loss from what was to what is no more.  Unless of course they are taught the power to choose their reactions and to look for what they can create as part of new beginnings.   If youth are taught that they are taking part in creating beginnings and that endings are purposeful in creating space for the new, 2020 will not leave a deep footprint that becomes their lifetime pain, trauma, sorrow, despair, or grief. 

Now, more than ever, bravely talking about the subjects we prefer not to talk about is critical.  As written in Hope Has a Cold Nose, to look someone’s pain or grief in the eye is one of the hardest things to do. We find ourselves uncomfortable listening to the content of the story.  Yet, if we continue to struggle to look pain, trauma, sorrow, despair, or grief in the eye, instead of the world finding healing and new beginnings, anguish will be the new norm.    

I don’t know about you, but I think there has been enough anguish. 

It is now time to flourish in hope.

Blessings to you this holiday season.  May peace, joy, and well-being be yours in the year to come.   May hope walk beside you every step of the way.

My goal in life is to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am. – Anonymous

Sincerely,

-Christine

My gratitude to Southern Living for their support of the power of hope! 

https://www.southernliving.com/news/hope-has-a-cold-nose-service-dogs-military-veterans-ptsd

For an engaging webinar facilitated by Dr. Alan Westfield, with sharing by Dr. Adrian Popa, Michael Ortiz, Taylor Rowell, and me, please click on the link below:  

Listening, Empathy, Awareness & Dignity: LEADership Through Storytelling & Companionship

https://www.gonzaga.edu/school-of-leadership-studies/news-events/leadership-through-storytelling-and-companionship

To purchase Hope Has a Cold Nose:

Amazon:

Amazon.com : christine hassing

Barnes and Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hope-has-a-cold-nose-christine-hassing/1137781095?ean=9781982255282

Balboa Press:

https://www.balboapress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/811622-hope-has-a-cold-nose

or you can contact me: https://christinehassing.com/contact/

Feel free to contact me with any comments or questions.  I welcome exchanging in dialogue with you.  I can be reached by visiting https://www.hopehasacoldnose.com/, https://christinehassing.com/ or you can email me at ckhred30@gmail.com

P.S.  For additional impactful and powerful information regarding the healing impact of service dogs, please visit https://www.northwestbattlebuddies.org/a-vision-of-hope/.   

 

Dear readers,

Embrace uncertainty.  Some of the most beautiful chapters in our lives won’t have a title until much later. – Bob Goff

A title such as Joy and Sara.  Or Glenn and Campbell.   Or Doug and Jett.  Or.  Or the other 20 extraordinary chapters that make up Hope Has a Cold Nose.  

Officially launched as of November 11, 2020.   I remain immensely humbled and grateful for each co-author who gave me their sacred trust to retell their stories, for all who helped Hope Has a Cold Nose become a reality, and for the journey every step of the way leading up to the launch and since.  

The journey.   When I first felt called to begin writing Hope Has a Cold Nose, it included inspiring hope for twenty-two lives a day.  As Hope Has a Cold Nose was nearing completion, I sensed it would be for inspiring hope.  Period.   The extraordinary storytellers would not only be serving their military brothers and sisters who are held in the tight grip of hopelessness.  They would be serving all whom they took a vow to serve and protect.  They would potentially inspire…humanity. 

Twice in this past week I have heard this sentiment.   I don’t want to hope.  I don’t want to be disappointed when it doesn’t work out.   This past week I listened to people share their profound sorrow and grief over this year’s continuous change.    A few days ago, I had a stranger thank me for the spark in my eyes as he shared how much he missed seeing people’s smiles.   Recently I listened as someone shared their sadness at a story of how babies are entering this world only seeing masked faces.   Humanity is grieving.   

Twenty-three extraordinary co-authors understand grief and sorrow.  They understand traumatic moments.  They understand fear, isolation, anxiety, depression, and loss of hope.  They understand emotional pain.  They do not profess to understand in a way that it means they walk in anyone else’s shoes as if to compare or to minimize someone else’s feelings.  They understand in a way that they empathize, they care, and they hold the space for others to know they are not alone. 

For a long time, I have loved the metaphor of a cocoon, caterpillar, and butterfly.    Transformation.    The idea of a breaking open to something beautiful.  The idea of going from a crawl, to darkness, to flight.   In my naivety I thought that every caterpillar became a butterfly.  Recently I learned differently.  

Choice.  Life happens.  We choose.  Life brings so much we cannot control.   What we do not lose is our control of choice.   Easier to say than feel sometimes, isn’t it?  

Or perhaps in these moments it feels like easier to say then feel often.  

Or all the time.

Our dance of grace between opposites.   The opposites of choosing to see what is and what can be.   Or choosing to see what is not and what no longer is.   The opposites of always looking for the positive.   Or pushing down the pain, sorrow, and grief that wishes to be seen and acknowledged as part of what makes us human.

What makes us humanity.

I think about the stranger who misses seeing smiles.   And I think eyes are the mirror to the soul.  We are now being given a chance to pause and pay more attention to what is being communicated from the heart.  Are eyes sparkling?  Do they reflect happiness?  Peace?  Or do the eyes look tired?  Scared?  Hopeless? 

We are being asked to lean closer into conversations so that we can better hear people speak.    The mask currently feels as if it is a barrier that disconnects.  Yet, what if it is actually a gift we have been handed to help us better connect?  

To listen as unconditionally as the other 23 co-authors of Hope Has a Cold Nose do well.   With compassion, without judgment.   With hope.    And their beautiful cold noses. 

Every story is us.  – Rumi

Sincerely,

-Christine

For those unable to join the launch event that took place November 11, 2020, please find the recorded link below:

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fdoc-0g-74-docs.googleusercontent.com%2Fdocs%2Fsecuresc%2Fer40534jg2s97lsu9i83t02s7fog4p4o%2Fh7ohpnk4i7kcceelv0j2bv7j6373q39e%2F1605442275000%2F01407399994694242005%2F16989285173635649559%2F1bYashsHUW15KmwoOzgwJkxVhS3BvV0Ci%3Fe%3Ddownload%26authuser%3D0%26fbclid%3DIwAR0OVNKTQ0NbO71lKHPSWAxWNuZ-s0sU59uqut2a9mtA1mgTIX8W3DYMN9w&h=AT36oZuhEahU8UPbLvnFwTHNtW0rIpv3kpRMUhdeZlgcVlZgoLolqEFOSOpuwltTEzceLtrhNNzjJ-jbT5Y-JusUYW3UOkFgofxqqcdUkeyEQbid-Dvt6oyAcrgxVqFBWQ&__tn__=H-R&c[0]=AT0GE_pfTjMCq6beMKJFK_ebaD0_nBsWreLWymwl4SHTSAIJAmXQsQXsrgAJFU2L1dGc_QodKwFtoGZn5bw77LOvdfCpX6dGs0JBPRSV266YU06xw-bY13GawB23w49GrEZBxAP26IFuu1IuwtZTHfMwiE_xVL236Hxil94z-UO_qjmkLeHVHRpt-yyUezCO9YX_eOh_b8uAS5-QGGs7_NphGQ

I was also privileged to take part in a webinar on November 11 held by my alma mater, Gonzaga University.    With many thanks to Kelsey Solberg, please click on the link below to listen to a wonderful dialogue facilitated by Dr. Alan Westfield, with sharing by Dr. Adrian Popa, Michael Ortiz, Taylor Rowell, and myself.   

Listening, Empathy, Awareness & Dignity: LEADership Through Storytelling & Companionship

https://www.gonzaga.edu/school-of-leadership-studies/news-events/leadership-through-storytelling-and-companionship

For an impactful video put together by Northwest Battle Buddies, please watch “Now I Am”:

To purchase Hope Has a Cold Nose:

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Cold-Nose-Christine-Hassing

Barnes and Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hope-has-a-cold-nose-christine-hassing/1137781095?ean=9781982255282

Balboa Press:

https://www.balboapress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/811622-hope-has-a-cold-nose

or you can contact me: https://christinehassing.com/contact/

Feel free to contact me with any comments or questions.  I welcome exchanging in dialogue with you.  I can be reached by visiting https://www.hopehasacoldnose.com/, https://christinehassing.com/ or you can email me at ckhred30@gmail.com

P.S.  For additional impactful and powerful information regarding the healing impact of service dogs, please visit https://www.northwestbattlebuddies.org/a-vision-of-hope/.