From my new novel, Listo, a story about a Brother and his Pit Bull:

“Work Hard to Gift”

Listo, I know what you love most of all, and that is to expend all your energy and explode it out into the world. Jumping, running, wrestling, swimming, fetching, and going, going, constantly going. It is joy and life for you to use every joint and muscle in your body. It is fulfillment for your mind to figure out its next move without even thinking about the next move. Everything you do is poetry in motion.

You don’t even care that I plan your torture. You jump out of the car Listo, leading, pushing, pulling. When I let you loose, you race out into deep sand that forces you to sink, but you leap up out of it, and you are working, and I am with you, and I throw the ball in the ocean, and you swim. I do this ten times, and you keep coming back for more, so I guide you to the other dogs, and you play, chasing and running and sometimes even wrestling, which you love most, but I’m always watching you as you keep going. After an hour, even though you do not want to stop, I put on you your horse’s harness, and you pull me back to where we started from. You sniff, and I lean all my weight against you, yet you stay sniffing, stretching all your muscles against mine in this life and death tug of war. Another hour passes, and I will be damned if this is work!

Hard work is a lie. Listo, you work because you want to work. You love the explosion of work. You do not care about work as long as the spirit is there, and it is a beautiful spirit to work in what you love, no matter the consequences, no matter the burn in your lungs. We should all be like you and simply

Work Hard to Gift

You can’t take it with you
Everything
You do is already
Gone
Every smile
Every kiss
Every broken heart
Is gone

We are all in the same situation

Goal gettin
For the sake of
Goal gettin
Aint goin to
Fulfill you

Work is not for a
Wage
Work is not for a
Corporation’s pocket
Work is supposed to be for right
Now

This moment

This explosion

Give it away

By giving it away
You find others
You find yourself

You know yourself
The best gift of all
No diamond compares
No gold goal feels like
Forever

Reward yourself and
Perfect strangers with
Lots of Love

To read more about the new novel Listo, click the link here: https://todobododown.com/2022/02/06/listo-my-new-novel/