An Ode to Tommy: Life Lessons from My Mindful, Loving Labrador

Sriranga VN
Jul 24, 2025
3 min read

An Ode to Tommy, my best friend, written when he was 10. Ofcourse, now he is very, very sick. Do pray for him. Bless him!

Eat, sleep, walk, repeat.....Mindful living lessons!

I love those beautiful creatures called dogs. We have had dogs as far as I can remember.

Tommy is a gorgeous chocolate Labrador dog who owns me. He is a 10-year-chubby guy who has his own style of living his life. He takes it on himself to be the police patrol of the street, taking strict cognisance of all the people who walk the street below.

He miraculously recognizes the sound of opening of our gate below and starts up his bark, first gently warning the stranger to back up and run. If the stranger persists to advance, the bark turns to a growl and then to a crescendo of snaps. Still if the stranger makes bold to come to our first floor gate, he finds Tommy standing waiting at the gate. If the visitor shows no fear, Tommy welcomes him in and forces him to pat, cuddle n give total attention to him.

Tommy is totally disciplined in his life. 5.30 am-walk, 7 am- breakfast, then sleep, 12.30-lunch . Then sleep again n clean the body. Then 4 pm, short walk to releive himself.

Chomp, chomp he eats ravenously, though it is the same meal each day.

And walks, he enjoys each moment, sniffing furiously, pocking his nose deliberately n making a note of smells and surrondings and finally marking his presence by spraying his mark. Though it is the same walk, each walk, each day is totally fresh, new for him.

And seista time is sleeping blissfully, lifting your leg up, oblivious to the world! Enjoy each day n count your blessing, seems to be his mantra.

Each day he waits for me at 6.30 pm at the gate. The moment I turn the corner, he knows and turns restless.

As I enter the building, the excitement of Tommy is palpable by his happy barks n whines. The climax when I enter the first floor gate, a ball of love cascades you and propells you into the house with barks, yelps and tail wagging diagonally non stop.

You can see those eyes shining with love and admiration for the only person who is the center of his world.

I learnt how to live peacefully from this goofball. Lead a simple, uncomplicated life full of discipline, trust, love and living in the moment.

He trusts me implicitly. He know his walk will happen. His food will come at right time. His cleaning n grooming will happen at right time. Today is a beautiful day, as will be tomorrow. He lives in today. He is not bothered about yesterday nor of tomorrow, and lives with trust, love and peace. What a lesson to learn !

Lessons learnt from the philosophy of this munchkin ....

1. Practise living in today, do your duty to the best of capability today. Live in the Here and Now.

2. Count your Blessings. Trust, give love n be grateful for all things which God has given today.

3. Have a life of discipline each day with set routines. Take pleasure and savour each moment of the day. Have meaningfull relationships.

4. Forgiveness- No grudges in life.

5. Self acceptance of oneself with all faults and idiosyncrasies.

People lead such stressful lives. The fad these days is to spend money to learn mindfulness, living in moment and to do various techniques to reduce stress and bring inner peace.

Tommy has taught me mindfulness by living and enjoying each moment of day and being grateful for all that life brings....each day.

I bow my head to you, Tommy, for all the love and joy you bring to my life n for teaching me mindfulness, gratitude and how to find happiness in small everyday things each day.....

Thank you for reading n showing appreciation for my writing. If you love to catch more vignettes of life, more everyday inspiration, hope, faith and ways to reach our God given inner potential, plz subscribe to my, to be launched blog at www.Srirangaflo.com. ........ Stay blessed!