Cutting Out the Knots

Cutting Out the Knots

This morning on my walk, I thought back to when I was a kid and had my very first dog—Charcoal. She was a scruffy little dog with black fur, and I learned quickly that if I didn’t brush her coat and take care of it, she would get stickers tangled in her fur. Those little burrs and thorns would catch and knot up her coat until it was uncomfortable for her—and honestly uncomfortable for me to look at.

If I left the knots there, they only grew worse. The fur would mat tighter, and the only solution was to cut them out with scissors. It wasn’t always pretty. Sometimes it left a big patch missing, but Charcoal always did better after the knots were gone. Her coat grew back clean, smooth, and healthy.

As I walked this morning, I realized how much this mirrors life. The stickers aren’t always in our fur—they’re in our minds. They’re painful memories, heartbreaks, mistakes, or wounds we’ve carried for too long. If we don’t face them, they knot up and make us lose our peace of mind.

Reflection is where the knots are revealed. Reflection is also where growth happens. It’s easy to avoid because it’s painful, like pulling stickers out of a dog’s fur. But if I don’t cut out the knots in my own thinking—if I don’t face them, process them, and let them go—then my mind won’t grow.

Charcoal taught me that sometimes you have to cut away what’s stuck to you so that something new and healthy can grow in its place. Today, I’m grateful for the practice of reflection. Each time I cut out a knot, I make room for new joy, fresh growth, and a lighter step moving forward.