About six months ago I noticed a black dog that was consistently running loose where I live.  I did not get the sense it was posing any danger, he just seemed to be tearing up and down communicating to anyone who passed by, “Look at me, look at me!” Several of my neighbors noticed this dog as well and we talked among ourselves that someone should call the County’s Animal Control Services. After a couple of weeks I did not see the dog anymore and I figured that he had either moved on or the matter had otherwise been taken care of. Shortly afterwards during my morning power walk I saw the same dog who had undergone a transformation of sorts- he was docile, following a fellow neighbor sedately on a leash. As I fell in step with her the full story unfolded: she too, had seen the dog tearing around aimlessly, and she and her husband took it upon themselves to take it to Animal Control and to inquire as to its health and ownership status. During this process she had come to fall in love with the dog and when it was established that it was not missing, she and her husband adopted it. Judging the manner in which she told the story, it was clear that both she and the dog were very happy with how the story ended. I continue to see this same dog walking quietly with its new owner and think how on some level it had to claim the circumstances he desired before they actually came to pass. He had set his sights on bringing desirable new circumstances (a nice neighborhood, a nice owner) into being when was running around in what appeared to be in an aimless fashion; and by persistently “making his case” he attracted the means to achieve his objective. From time to time we might think about aspects of our lives we may wish to change, but just have not brought ourselves to take the next leap of faith for whatever reason. This dog’s new owner may never have envisioned herself acquiring a new member of her family in this fashion if the dog did not make its wishes known. Correspondingly, we can think of all of the people, circumstances or resources that will not come together on our behalf because we too, have not made our wishes known. Do you have a new vision for your life that is yet to get underway? What would help you turn up the volume on your “barking?”