"Life Is Good" by Bodhi Smith

May 26, 2023

 
living day and night like i should
each moment lived best i could
knowing with certainty it all would
make my life happy, rich, and full
fortifying mind, heart, and soul
knowing life is good, so really good
living right, in the 'now' as i should
 
 
MY THOUGHTS
life is good, so really good as i'm spending quality time with my best buddy, realizing all those in-between moments are just as memorable as highlights if you only slow down and take the time to notice  ― bodhi, life's good
 
"life is good", really good! here's a lovely portrait of my best buddy besos. he's a super smart and athletically gifted blue merle aussie shepherd, as well as my hiking and photo shoot travel partner in crime...right now he's enjoying the night together with me high on a cliff beside a balanced rock under the glowing stars and milky way close to the village of castleford in southern idaho...
 
there's a good reason for the old adage "a dog is man's best friend"...it's because it's so damn true...

do you ever look at your dog and realize that you love them so much that it’s hard to put it into words? after all, your relationship together is a relationship like no other!

your furry best friend is always there for you, happy to listen when you need an ear, ready to explore the world when you want to get away, and always available to snuggle when you’re looking for comfort...
 
admit it: your dog cracks you up all the time! life with a roomie on four paws is a ton of fun...

it’s a deeply special bond as old as time, which is why everyone from poets to philosophers have tried to describe the alchemy of our special connection with our dogs. whether it’s celebrating our dogs’ devotion to us or laughing about their quirks, you’re bound to be as in love and devoted to your pup as he is to you...

the only, absolute and best friend a man has, in this selfish world, the only one that will not betray or deny him, is his dog ― king frederick II of prussia (1786)

if i had to carry my doggie for the last three miles of a hike in the eastern sierra to make sure he got back to safety, i would do it, without hesitation, no matter how long it took, i would get him to safety if he needed me to do so...and besos would do the same for me, even if he was hurt with bloodied paws, he would do anything for me, to make sure i'm okay, to protect me from dangers out there...and i would do the same for him likewise...he needs me, and i need him too. that's real love, so real there's no way to describe it...
 
we're in love. it's unconditional, perfect love. i love that furball with all my being, and besos loves me to his fullest. he's purely devoted to me, so beautifully loyal, non judgemental, just accepting, always there for me, for both good and bad times in our life...always understanding me without the need for words, we hear each other, and just know each other because of that deep bond between us. so deeply special that nothing compares...
 
when i'm sad, he perks me up. when i'm happy, he add to my joy...we can sit under a tree and both enjoy the breeze in the leaves, the smells, the sounds, no need to break the silence, just sitting there together enjoying nature and each other's company...there's nowhere he'd rather be than right beside me, and that's honestly the same for me...when i go on trips overseas, i miss him dearly, and i know he is missing me too...and when we see each other after being apart, there's such a primal joy in our reunion, one that cannot be described, that sort of connection with another soul can only be felt...
 
and when i see him, i know life is good, so really good...
 
everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong...and if the kindest souls were rewarded with the longest lives, dogs would outlive us all  – unknown
 
i love him dearly, and i'm devoted to him...he's a crazy little doggie full of massive energy and numerous goofy quirks and imperfections...but his imperfections make him perfect for me...it's like we parallel each other's craziness with a smile when we look into each other's eyes...i'm single and in the dating scene, but if a lady cannot get along with him, it's a dealbreaker (that has happened already)...
 
...sometime i'm truly amazed at how lucky i am to have found him, at a time when i really needed him to enter my life (the dude had just crossed the rainbow bridge three months prior in 2018)
 
and you know when i know life is good? as soon as my eyes open and i take this day's first breath, with besos laying right there on the pillow beside me...it's when i realize i've been blessed with another day to appreciate this beautiful world, and share time with all those special souls like him whom i carry in my heart...
 
life is good, so really good...
 
realizing each moment is precious, we're enjoying living in the moment, being one with the moment, soaking up the moment together...filling our life with precious moments, smiling so big, because life is good, really good! ― bodhi, life's good
 
released recently in october 2022, here's a fabulous modernized revamped cover of the 70's classic raucous tune, life's been good by joe walsh....dirty heads remake it by reimagining the song in their own breezy reggae-rock-rap style, trimming it down in half by streamlining it without walsh's guitar solos, and making some adjustments to the lyrics to fit the socal lifestyle a little bit better. i think the story of enjoying life is what the dirty heads are all about, and this new cover upholds that vision: "life's been good" by dirty heads (joe walsh cover).
 
my black impala goes 85. i lost my license, too high when i drive. i got a beach house, gold records on the wall. i'm in the water so don't even call. yeah they say i'm lazy but it takes up my time. i think it's crazy that i turned out just fine...i get in trouble but i just make the call. my manager, he gon' take care of it all. yeah, life's been good to me, two bottles of booze got me screaming happy new year in the middle of june. man, life's been good to me, shouldn't complain, but sometimes i do because it comes with the fame...they say i'm crazy but i have a good time. life's been good to me so far...my black impala goes 85. i lost my license, too high when i drive. i got a beach house, gold records on the wall. i'm in the water so don't even call. well, life's been good to me, manifest destiny. life's been bad to me, but it doesn't have to be. you need both with the comedy and tragedy. one smile, one frown, it's a masterpiece. on islands, eyelids are off grid. blue screens, blue dreams to dive in. no comp, yeah, i am the top ten. please have a seat, all my friends eat when i win...they say i'm crazy but i have a good time. life's been good to me so far...my black Impala goes 85. i lost my license, too high when i drive. i got a beach house, gold records on the wall. i'm in the water so don't even call...life's been good to me so far. life's been good to me so far, yeah. life's been good to me so far. life's been good to me so far, yeah...my black impala goes 85. i lost my license, too high when i drive. i got a beach house, gold records on the wall. i'm in the water so don't even call. i go to parties down by the shore, it's hard to leave when you can't find the door. it's tough to handle this fortune and fame. they say i'm different, i haven't changed ― dirty heads, life's been good (joe walsh cover).
 
 
 
A COUPLE QUOTES ABOUT DOGS
if there are no dogs in heaven, then when i die i want to go where they went – will rogers

a dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself – josh billings

dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole – roger caras

i have found that when you are deeply troubled, there are things you get from the silent devoted companionship of a dog that you can get from no other source  – doris day

my little dog – a heartbeat at my feet – edith wharton

a dog has one aim in life… to bestow his heart – j. r. ackerley

histories are more full of examples of the fidelity of dogs than of friends – alexander pope

a dog will teach you unconditional love. if you can have that in your life, things won’t be too bad – robert wagner

the dog is the god of frolic – henry ward beecher

in times of joy, all of us wished we possessed a tail we could wag – w. h. auden

one of the great pleasures of being with dogs is their spontaneous expression of what they are feeling when they are feeling it – suzanne clothier

thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turns to fog; but you’re never friendless ever, if you have a dog – douglas malloch

dogs are such agreeable friends. they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.” – george elliot

every puppy should have a boy – erma bombeck

to his dog, every man is napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs – adous huxley

scratch a dog's ears and you’ll find a permanent job – franklin p. jones

all his life he tried to be a good person. many times, however, he failed. for after all, he was only human. he wasn’t a dog – charles m. schulz

if i have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs i have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons – james thurber

dogs are our bridge – our connection to who we really are, and most tellingly, who we want to be – patricia b. mcconnell

dog: a kind of additional or subsidiary deity designed to catch the overflow or surplus of the world’s worship – ambrose bierce

dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen  – orhan pamuk

a dog can never tell you what she knows from the smells of the world, but you know, by watching her, that you know almost nothing – mary oliver

if you don’t own a dog, at least one, there is not necessarily anything wrong with you, but there may be something wrong with your life – roger caras

the greatest fear dogs know is the fear that you will not come back when you go out the door without them  – stanley coren
dogs are our link to paradise. they don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. to sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in eden, where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace ― milan kundera

and now here is a beautiful song about a special dog, just like that special dog we all have known and had in our life at one time or another...get your tissue box ready—this one is like those dog movies you sob through. chris stapleton sings in "maggie's song". of an abandoned puppy he found in a parking lot. he took her home to give her a good life, and over the years, she became a protector of his kids and part of the family. she eventually grew old and passed away next to the man who rescued her. chris says he’ll never meet a dog quite like her, and he’s probably right...even though i have besos now in my life, this tune makes me think of and remember the dude who was my soulmate for 15 beautiful years...got any more tissues?

let me tell you a story about an old friend of mine. somebody left her in a shopping cart in a parking lot for us to find. just a fuzzy black pup. she was hungry and feeling alone, we put her in the back seat and told her we were taking her home...run, maggie, run with the heart of a rebel child. oh, run, maggie, run, be just as free as you are wild...a few kids later, we moved out on the farm, and she followed those kids around. yeah, she kept them safe from harm. and she loved to chase squirrels, and playing out in the snow. she'd take off like a bullet. man, you should have seen her go! run, maggie, run with the heart of a rebel child. oh, run, maggie, run, be just as free as you are wild...it was raining on a monday, the day that maggie died. she woke up and couldn't use her legs. so i laid down by her side, she put her head on my hand like she'd done so many times. i told her she was a good dog, then i told her goodbye...run, maggie, run with the heart of a rebel child. oh, run, maggie, run be just as free as you are wild...i had a revelation as the tractor dug a hole. i can tell you right now that a dog has a soul. and i thought to myself as we buried her on the hill, i never knew me a better dog, and i guess i never will...run, maggie, run with the heart of a rebel child. oh, run, maggie, run, be just as free as you are wild. oh, run, maggie, run with the heart of a rebel child. h, run, maggie, run, be just as free as you are wild ― chris stepleton, maggie's song.
 
 
 
SPECIFICS ABOUT THIS PHOTO
you know when i know life is good? as soon as my eyes open and i take this day's first breath with besos laying right there on the pillow beside me...it's when i realize i've been blessed with another day to appreciate this beautiful world, and share time with all those souls whom i carry in my heart ― bodhi, life is good
 
this composition was created two summers ago during my coast-to coast and back trip with my doggie, besos. from san diego we went north up into washington state for a photo shoot at a private winery there, and then headed eastward across the northern united states. and along the way we found this beautiful little gem in southern idaho just off the 84 freeway...
i wish to openly thank my sponsors who have always supported me through both the good and bad times...for truly this long exposure impression would not be possible without the use of my induro phq3 series 5-way panhead with an induro (now benro) stealth carbon fiber tripod. in combination with the progreyusa filters. which i use with every photo i take...
 
you were blessed with 84,600 seconds today, have you used one of them to say thank you? ― bodhi, blessed  
 
leave you today wishing that bright joy 
and spiritual peace fill your life...
imploring you to make every moment count, 
no matter what, always and forever, 
for that is the only thing that truly matters... 
 
and above all else,
i hope this message and impression find you well.
 
namaste,
bodhi
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