“The lesson I’ve learned from dogs has been that rules are meant to be acknowledged, and then ignored. They do everything exuberantly, joyously, and with an abundance of life.”
-Derrick Jensen in Walking on Water
Doggie-dynamics are extremely fascinating.
Yesterday I brought my chocolate Lab and my Alaskan malamute to a dog park to socialize. The dog park is easily one of my favorite places in the world, and it costs absolutely nothing (except a willingness to clean up excrements in public). It is Doggy Disney World; it is a happy place. I discovered a lot about the personalities of my own two dogs as I watched them interact with others, just as you can analyze human socialization to determine someone’s likes and dislikes.
For example, my wolfish malamute enjoys guarding the dog park watering hole with acute diligence. There were 7 watering dishes in the corner of the dog park. She stood over all of these, growling whenever another parched, jubilant mutt would approach for a refreshment. She was also very social, however, and developed a romantic attachment with a giant poodle. My Lab’s body wiggled sufficiently when she would first meet the other creatures inside the park, but her loyalty lied with me shortly after as she proceeded to nudge her ball into my ankle and demand that I throw it for her repeatedly.
Dogs are probably the happiest creatures on Earth. Why is that? Probably it's because they’ve mastered 4 simple steps to happiness without even trying. I’ve always tried to be a good person so that I can be reincarnated as a dog, but what if I don’t have to wait for reincarnation? I want to live like a canine. Here’s how I think they do it:
1. Live exuberantly, joyously, and with an abundance of life
If you had a tail, would it wag more than it would droop? Pretend you have a tail to wag and live like an exuberant, joyful puppy who only concerns itself with the present. Why worry about the thorn in your mind if it doesn’t affect you that very instant? A dog lives always in the present, and it allows no heavy concern about the past or the future to dampen its mind.
2. Be man’s best friend
Labradors, Retrievers, and many other breeds absolutely thrive on human contact. They go to almost any extent to please people (unless they are in mischievous puppy mode), and they tend to place unfaltering trust in the omnipotence of their owners. This trust-based relationship is simply anti-human in its strength. Most dogs see the best in people first, because they assume that a person will pet them or give them something yummy to eat. They never make assumptions or stereotype, and appearances mean nothing to them.
3. Be who you are
Dogs care less about what others think of them than they care about what time “Dancing with the Stars” is on. Imagine if you could strip away all your concerns about how others perceive you. Dogs are never slaves to societal scripts. Sure they have to understand the rules of what it means to be a dog (no soiling the carpet, no sinking your teeth into pedestrians), but they never hold back in regards to their personalities and never pretend to be something other than who they are meant to be.
4. Run to run
When dogs don’t get to run, they are denying their nature and their nature erupts in some other, uglier way. Wouldn’t all our troubles disappear if we stopped denying out nature and lived as the Raramuri (the running people)? Canines mimic the Raramuri: They run because they love doing it, and they run because they need it. They are strong, explosive, and free. They ask nothing from their running, and they get pleasure and liberation in return.
I just looked out of my bedroom window and saw my Alaskan malamute roaming near the road in my front yard. In case you were not aware, malamutes are innate escape artists. Apparently, she picked the lock on the gate from the back deck where she had been quarantined to lick her jar of peanut butter clean in peace. I just chased her down with a bag of treats. Conversely, my lab has been sitting next to my foot the whole time that I have been writing this, staring me down with her eager “play with me or I’ll self-combust” eyes.
Be an escape artist like my malamute and escape human conventions. Be who you are. Show your love unconditionally and assume the best of people before you get to know them. Live exuberantly, joyously, and with abundance of life.
Be your own best friend.
I love dogs! That's so cute of your dog to be guarding all the water dishes. My dog has a ball that he plays with. We'd let him fetch it but he won't return it to us. He's selfish that way. But he's such a happy dog.
ReplyDeletei will live like a dog. because of my lack of worries and awareness, the next time i break out my lacrosse stick and have a catch, or have company over, I will relentlessly hump the life out of the leg of any available person in my vicinity due to my uncontrollable excitement. haha. i like this post. way to highlight those attributes of dogs that people really should try to mimic. Loyalty, enthusiasm, and committing to one's own free will are all things that we should try to balance in our lives I think.
ReplyDeleteI love this idea - actually had an argument with a friend a few days ago about would you rather be a dog or a cat (I chose Millie the Shih Tzu). Dogs don't have to remind themselves to enjoy life - they just do.
ReplyDeleteYou are so lucky to have a dog park, my little town is still raising money for one!