Self reflection has the potential for positive and negative outcomes. On the one hand, self reflection leads to personal and spiritual growth. But it can also enmesh one in a tangled web of doubt and even despair.
My own contemplation has led to a surprising result: physical growth.
Yes, I exaggerate. However, I've discovered that far from the toy poodle tag with which I was branded by the American Kennel Association and contrary to my lineage which runs to the toy category, I am a Miniature!
Physical size tends to be the qualifier forthe toy, miniature and standard poodle descriptor. My first suspicions were aroused when I learned that my breeder told Maman et Papa that my top weight was expected to be 8.5 pounds. Patently ridiculous for I am now at a comfortable 12. I searched the AKC official poodle book for qualifying measurements and rechecked the information on the AKC web site . Honesty compels me to note that according to the measurements taken at my doctor's office, I seem to be on the toy-miniature cusp. At first this seemed an insurmountable barrier to true self knowledge.
Further contemplation suggested that proper assessment comprises qualitative as well as quantitative values. Among the qualitative values: strength, self-possession, tough demeanor with a heart of gold, a light and springy gait, willingness to help the little chap and challenge the oppressor, large intellect and a sizable girth, etc.
As most of you already know, I possess all these qualities in abundance.
In the end, self reflection was a highly positive experience leading from restricted self knowledge through an identity crisis to a fully realized sense of the true me.
Now no longer under the false impression that I'm a toy poodle, I proclaim my newly acquired knowledge to the multitudes (and to my faithful fans & friends): I am a Miniature!
Note: Strangely & despite what I regard as the fruits of my self reflection, Papa still thinks I'm a toy poodle with the bark of a standard, and Grandpere advises that I wear a Western hat rather than a pink polka-dotted one.
