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Be the person who your dog loves.
If you have a dog
you know that they are always glad to see you. This is because they
know you are wonderful. Your dog (and all dogs for that matter) know
you to be a loving and kind person who is ready to pat them on the
head at any time. They know that with you there is always a
possibility of spontaneous play or a brisk belly rub. So strive to
be the person who your dog loves.
The reason they
know your good side is because they only have a good side. They
don’t have any other reference point, therefore they presume that
you are just like them. And you are. Maybe some of us from time to
time have forgotten how to love unconditionally and play
spontaneously, but they don’t know that. They always see the best in
us and they bring it out. So lets try to live up to their
expectations.
They do not know
that we have this capacity to get unhappy about an imagined future
or a regretted past. They know NOW, now is great, let’s play, hey,
rub my belly, that would be good. WOW can you smell that, a cat was
here, and he ate a mouse earlier, wow cats are so weird, they are
moody. Sniff, sniff, WOW can you smell that, a burger was in this
room, yum. Burgers are great, Hey throw me this stick, .I dare you
to try to take it away. Come on chase me, wag wag.
Lets learn from
them. Try to emulate their qualities. Their qualities are
unflappable exuberance, trust, unconditional love, being totally
present “Here and Now”, forgiving everything and being non
judgmental. They have their priorities in order; love always, play
whenever you can and get people involved. Overlook flaws in humans.
Stay focused on how wonderful it is now. And right now is the time
for adventure. They don’t try to control the world or make a
difference and yet they make a fantastic difference with their
happiness, ponder this, there is a clue here. They also have an
amazing curiosity which they demonstrate when they get their sniffer
on a trail of wonderful clues.
Lets reverse it for
a minute, instead of being the person your dog loves, be the dog
your person loves. This may amaze your partner. Dog for a day: You
could be a dog for a day and just drop the past and the future and
look for play opportunities, have lots of curiosity and treat your
spouse and friends the way a dog would. Yes, you could try to be the
dog your person knows you to be. Make sure you greet them with total
love and exuberance. Sniff in their ear, wag your tail a bit, try to
get them to chase you, tickles are good, play catch, wrestle, biting
is good if it’s not to hard, you can lay on the grass and pant, then
roll onto you back and see if you can get a belly rub. A back rub
will do.
This is fun, I do
it all the time. And I get pats on the head and an occasional back
rub, some laughs and a bit of spontaneous play here and there. Try
it. Dog for a day. Then go back to trying to control everyone and
everything. Be a dog for a day and then get back to worry and
stress, money and guilt, and fear and aggression the next day if you
want. You have probably heard about the agnostic, dyslexic,
insomniac who laid awake every night wondering if there was a DOG.
There’s another clue. Yes GOD spelled backwards is DOG. Dogs are
backwards in that they go counter to our way of living . But maybe
it’s us humans who are backwards in our values. Maybe we should
learn from them.
Sincerely,
John McKenna |
