Enlightened Leadership Blog | What Does the Passage of Time Reveal? | September 2025

The passage of time is where our journeys unfold. It reveals things we enjoy seeing and feeling, like joy and wins. It also reveals less pleasant experiences along the natural course of life, like sorrow, pain, and loss. Reflecting on the passage of time shows us how we’ve changed and grown.

During a real-life situation, the passage of time can feel harsh. I’m not talking about wrinkles and gray hair. I’m talking about harsh realities that you feel in your gut. During life, we lose people, places, and things. As a result, we can find ourselves adrift.

Although time passes, experiences can fade from the forefront of our memory, and they won’t remain top of mind in our daily lives as time moves forward. However, the growth and transformation that occur as a result of the loss become embedded in our being.

In August 2021, I faced a loss that caused me to feel adrift. I had experienced loss of loved ones before. However, this one had a deep and extreme effect on me. The loss was my Irish Jack Russell Terrier, Roxy. Yes, a dog.

It wasn’t only about loss. It was about the passage of time. I grew into the person I was living alongside Roxy, and without her, I didn’t feel like myself. And not feeling like myself reminded me every second that I was not feeling like myself. I thought, Why can’t I figure this out? When will I be ready to move forward? If you’ve been there, you know what I mean.

Being adrift is complicated when we need to perform well in various aspects of our daily lives. Who has time to drift when we have loved ones who rely on us, businesses to run, chores to do, places to go, and lives to live? We find a way of figuring it all out and being ready when we are ready. I took away a new mantra from the experience: Get ready to be ready. Don’t keep drifting, wishing you were ready. Feel your way and do the work to emerge in a way that makes you a better person and leader, grateful for the experience you lived through.

In August 2021, I wrote a blog post about Roxy directly after her passing. The words poured out of me along with what felt like rivers of tears. The blog post went up in September that year. Four years ago now, which is a whole other passage of time. As an example of the passage of time via a photograph, I chose a picture for this blog post taken on a sunny day in June 2003; this was our first day together, when our hearts connected forever.

In August 2022, I committed to myself to author a book. Somehow, my experience of Roxy’s passing ignited in me a powerful desire to write a book, one year later. As I say in Align Your Business with the Real You, “Grief is real, whether it’s for a dog, a human, a job, a business, a home, or anything else that impacts your life. At some point, we all navigate the impact of loss.” There’s depth to that chapter, titled “Feel Your Emotions,” as I share a real-life story and invite readers to reflect on their own experiences; together, we can see what we’ve learned and apply it to where we stand in our time journey.

I’m including below my Enlightened Leadership Blog “Turn the Page” from September 2021. I encourage you to use this to ponder how you’ve navigated the unknown when you experienced any kind of loss, and the moments you’ve savored and the lessons you’ve learned that you hold today. What wisdom did you extract from it all?

Enlightened Leadership Blog | Turn the Page | September 2021 – JLM & Associates Consulting, LLC

Roxy is a ten-pound brown and white Irish Jack Russell Terrier with endless love to give. She used to have boundless energy too, but she mellowed in her old age. During the past 18 years, Roxy’s life filled many chapters and colorful pages. She kept turning the pages in her story, our story.

Tuesday was normal. Roxy sauntered around slowly like normal these days. She ate steak, drank fresh, cold water, walked outside sniffing every blade of grass, napped on her favorite blankets, worked with me, like a happy day in the life of Roxy. That night, we were cuddling on the sofa watching the Yankees game. Suddenly, life changed in seconds.

Navigating Unknown

Our Roxy is the master of resilience. She barely slept that night, as if she thought she could push through this setback. But her eyebrows and blinking brown eyes expressed concern about departing from her pack. That was a restless night filled with doubt, asking what do we do? Is she suffering? Does she know what’s happening? The answers were don’t know, no, and yes.

18 years of nonfiction movie footage played in my mind. All happy thoughts. I smiled through tears, thinking about how I grew up with dogs all my life, but Roxy was extra special. From the moment she leapt into my lap in Jack Russell fashion on day one, looking at me with make me yours eyes, she navigated a huge chunk of life with me. That’s quite the bonding experience.

Savoring Moments

Roxy knew everything a dog could know about me from almost two decades of glances, sniffs, habits, and schedules. Every morning we kicked off the day with my early morning coffee in silence. Just Roxy, me, and a cup of hot, black coffee. Every night, she cuddled in my arms. In exchange, I knew her moods, desires, and routines. However, I struggled to know what she wanted this day. I asked her, “What are you telling me? What do you want me to do?” Our eyes locked and I felt her say I’m savoring every second at home. I want our pack together when I leave.

During these mentally exhausting 16 hours, I focused on feeling grateful for our joyful journey together. For the last 18 months she had her family close by. Last year, she became my little writing muse. She loved when I worked because it meant lap time and pets for her. This time, we laid side by side on the floor as I typed this story. She didn’t want to leave. We didn’t want her to either. Sadly, we knew her physical body needed to move on.

Learning lessons

As I pet shiny healthy hair on a tired little body, I realized this amazing dog taught our family valuable life skills that became part of our character. Part of us today. Part of us forever. I share enlightenment learned from a bright dog who worked relentlessly to bring joy even in a time of sorrow:

Find joy
Be brave
Love unconditionally
Master resilience
Receive gratefully
Protect your pack
Read body language
Stay young
Take your time
Age gracefully
Celebrate little things
Accept changes
Enjoy moments

Finding Joy

On this sad blur of a day, we enjoyed our last words, moments, kisses, touches, and breaths together as hours became minutes, then seconds. Eventually, time felt like it stood still.

Roxy is forever part of our family. She taught us priceless lessons that made us better humans. Animals have that beauty to offer. Celebrate your pets and the everlasting wisdom they teach.

By Jennifer Musser

See more and order Align Your Business with the Real You Here The Book – JLM & Associates Consulting and Align Your Business with the Real You: Connect with Yourself, Create What Matters Most, and Define Your Success by Jennifer Musser | Barnes & Noble®

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