While chatting with a friend, he commented on how stressful his weekend was.
I asked him if he read my column from last weekend about how dogs actively seek joy in every situation presented to them. And he said "Yes." I then said, "Well do it, be more dog!" His reply was, "If someone can be me, then I can find the time to be more dog." And that is one of the conundrums of the human experience. In order to be one thing, you have to exclude the other. My philosophy is that one is not exclusive of the other. Being more dog has nothing to do with getting the crappy stuff over with so that you can sit around with your tongue hanging out and wagging your tail all day long. Rather, instead of looking at the routine experiences of the day as mundane, look at them from the point of view of a dog.
To a dog, going to work would be just as amazing as going to the dog park because the dog would find something to be happy about. No matter how unexciting a situation may be to us, dogs enter it with a joyful mindset. The idea of "oh man, this is gonna suck" just isn't in their mental framework. Everything is amazing. This may seem like looking at the world through rose coloured glasses, and it is. What is so wrong with that?
What is wrong with expecting the best (not materially, but emotionally) in every situation? What is wrong with looking for something to be happy about even though the rest of the people want you to see something to be unhappy about.
We have been conditioned to easily accept sayings like "no pain no gain," "can't have the good without the bad," and "everything good must come to an end." These are all sayings from pessimists! And we accept them. But to say something like, "there is always a silver lining" is considered a hedonistic approach to life instead of a realistic one.
Well, my reality doesn't include pessimism and if that means that I live a hedonistic life because I prefer optimism like my dogs, I say bring it!
Life throws us curve balls, it is part of our journey, and we have a choice to either take them with unhappiness and pessimism or to look for that silver lining, make lemonade out of lemons, see the light at the end of the tunnel. .. be more dog. And that means that no matter how bad things get around you, you work as hard as you can to find something to be happy about, something to feel joyful about.
Are you feeling down because you only have hotdogs in your fridge? Instead of saying "poor me, I have these nutrient-void mystery meat logs to feed myself," tell yourself that you get to experience what it was like to be five years old once again and joyfully eat a hotdog without caring what it is, but just because it tastes so darn awesome.
If you are going through a rough patch in life right now and having a tough time finding happiness, then go to YouTube and search for "Two Legged Boxer Duncan Lou Who" for inspiration on finding joy in a situation that seems impossible. When you watch it you may at first be shocked, even repulsed by the sight of the dog, and that is OK. You are just not ready to see the joy yet. But if you do watch it, allow yourself to fully and completely feel the feelings that come from watching it. Are the tears running down your cheeks out of empathy for the dog? Do you feel sorry for it? Well don't. The dog is happy! Watch it over and over again until you feel the unabashed joy that the dog feels. You will feel it in your heart and when your heart swells, it means that you have connected to that immeasurable joy within that dog, and that dog's life, as it is presented, has fulfilled its purpose.
We have become so conditioned to see the gloom in everything that we have forgotten how to seek the good and how to feel good. Feeling good is our natural state of being, so seek it in everything you do. Be more dog!
And thank you Jonathan for the inspiration for this week's column. Remember to be more like Seymour!
Joan has been working with dogs for more than 15 years in obedience, tracking and behavioural rehabilitation. Contact her via her website k9kinship.com. Scan this page with the Layar app to watch the video of two-legged dog Duncan Lou Who making his first trip to the beach.
