Here Are My Findings About The Spiritual Meanings Of Stepping In Dog Poop:
Stepping in dog poop derails you from the normal course of the day.
It’s a statement that life is not always predictable.
Even if those obstacles are nasty, they have to be in order for us to grow and learn.
They make us take stock, think about what we are doing and TAKE CAREFUL NOTE of our next step.
Getting dog poo on my shoe was a humbling feeling: proof that no matter how hard we work and support, the universe is useful and can be very surprising.
Life is beyond just getting to a place. It’s walking and experiencing.
For me, that day was a metaphor for life. It is about NOT avoiding the messes, but how we MESS it up.
It was so squishy and disgusting when your feet found a pile of dog crap made me laugh at the utter randomness that life can bestow upon someone.
It reinforced an opportunity to be vigilant in whatever journeys lay ahead of us.
These unexpected experiences leave a mark on us.
I also realized the importance of mindfulness. Mindfulness is about not losing touch with all that surrounds us.
Engaging in mindfulness is a way that helps us to better roll with life’s punches.
It is about humility
As disgusting as stepping in dog crap is, it can be one of the most humbling experiences you have.
When I squished that unpleasant feeling under my shoe, anything I thought was “perfect,” or that placed me in a controllable light.
Tethered by this feeling of discomfort it was all too clear to me that we cannot control the unpredictable thing called life.
It was in that squishy, smelly moment I had to face the reality that I was not afforded exemption from life’s struggles.
What I mean by humility is simply being willing to recognize our weaknesses and fallibility.
One of the best lessons I learned and did my very best is to remind myself frequently: at times, you have to be able to laugh are yourself.
Accept it because we are only human.
Our imperfections allow us to live life with humor.
It struck me as funny at the time because I was being hit by ridiculous reality. Stepping in dog poop was actually a lesson in humility.
It is about letting go of negative energies
As disgusting as stepping in dog poo is, it represents this action of making room for more by letting go of the negative energies.
As I cleaned up after dog poop made its way into my home, it forced me to take another hard look at the parts of my life that needed some sprucing up.
Time to address the negative cycles and behaviors I have been carrying. In response to this limitation, I decided that enough was enough and had a still deeper reflection – going on to resolve whatever weights it is that we carry.
This purification process is necessary for our spiritual growth. It allows us to have a peaceful mind that is not pulled down by the trappings of negativity.
Regularly cleansing ourselves spiritually helps us to keep the channel open for all those wonderful opportunities life has in store.
It is about nature’s cycle
No matter how gross or disgusting it is, poop from a dog comes from the natural waste of an animal that you brought as part of your life.
It also symbolizes the fertile, nourishing soil to give back to the environment.
Sounds a little like the cycles of life and death.
This perspective reframes the incident from a negative event to one notch in line with life.
The same waste that causes my aching shoe to be muddied also feeds plant growth and the ecosystem.
Accepting that life is a process makes me see that the nuisances of life are just as big a part of this massive cycle.
Just knowing this cycle has helped me see my problems through a new eye.
Although bad things come, I try and see them not simply as something to avoid but also in a more practical way for my personal development.
Like how the earth transforms into something so valuable from waste, I know that every few hardships of mine will mold a learning opportunity.
This change of perception has been incredibly liberating, making it easier for me to live life through the highs and lows with an open heart.
My first reaction when I step in dog poop is usually to curse myself for not watching where the hell I am going or the dog owner who did not pick after his/her pet.
But, slowly the things I used to see as ‘this is so typical of life’ began morphing into reasons for me to exercise compassion.
Compassion means recognition of the fact that we are all interconnected, and it makes intrinsic sense to be kind to one another.
When we find ourselves in the moment, a lot of negative emotions start to flare up easily.
The more I think about it, the truth is there are going to be times when you will overlook things, and so do others.
With compassion, we begin to develop a more harmonious relationship with the world.
I choose to empathize instead of resent when I see a dog whose owner did not pick up after its poop.
The owner probably has an emergency.
It is about grounding
Stepping in dog poop makes me feel like a regular person.
It is a grounding experience.
The grounding consists of expanding myself and taking root on earth.
It makes me feel grounded, safe and like I am plugged into the world around me.
It’s a way of getting out of my head and being forcefully interactive with the world around me.
The more important takeaway is that stepping in dog poop helps me to stay grounded.
I’m Bulgarea Candin Stefan and I have started Spiritual Whirlwinds to pass my learnings from my spiritual journey. Spiritualwhirlwinds.com provides a space of spiritual awakening with guided meditations, e-books, mantras, and pendulum readings.
