The Art of Living from A Dog’s Perspective
Dogs come in all shapes, colors and sizes. There are the posh types, the ones who come with a pedigree which can only be claimed after a thorough genetic analysis followed by careful match-making arrangements. Then you have the rest, the ‘mutts,’ who see the light of day after some hush-hush, fast and furious random encounter. Whatever type of dog you come across; they will always be present ready to serve as a guide dog, police dog, guard dog, or just a loyal companion and cute addition to the family unit. If you pay close attention to their behavior, dogs can teach you valuable lessons in the Art of Living.
Dogs are considered man’s best friend and they give their owners undivided attention, companionship, and love each and every day. But, despite this, most dog-related expressions seem to have a negative connotation like in the story below.
A Dog’s Life
If you fall in the category of those who are unhappy with their lot in life, then you will be leading a ‘dog’s life.’ Walking the streets looking defeated and without purpose. For those who find themselves in that category, the only thing that can cheer them up and get their tail wagging again is if some kind soul offers to get them out of that torpor, take them to the park, get some fresh air, get some exercise, have a run around, give a kick to that torpor and play fetch instead. A dog’s life has its ups and down. Just make sure the down time don’t last too long. Snap out of it.
If you work in the Corporate world and wants to make it big in the City, then you will learn very quickly (if you are one of those whose mission in life is to go up that Corporate Ladder) that ‘dog- eat-dog.’ But to be successful you will have to ‘work like a dog’, days in and days out and sometimes at night too,there is no way around it. So, you spend the early years of your adult life doing just that, waking up early, working all hours of the day and night (sometimes), till the day when you become as ‘sick as a dog’, because let’s face it, it is not realistic to expect someone to maintain that kind of rhythm over a long period of time. So, you take a couple of days off to recover and stay in bed all day not feeling like going out at all as it ‘is raining cats and dogs’ outside. Still, ‘every dog has its day, and once back in the office after a couple of days off, you feel re-energized and ready to get back into the swings of things; you rejoice and find solace in the knowledge that your hard work is paying off and is taking you where you really want to be, i.e. on top of the Corporate Ladder.
But once you reach that place up there on top of the Corporate Ladder, you will have to stay alert because there are a lot of people who have a strong desire to take that spot from you. If you don’t up your game, learn new skills and keep yourself current, you could find yourself fighting for your survival. For the most resilient types, you will be well placed to teach all those ‘newbies’ a lesson in resilience by showing them that ‘you can never teach an old dog new tricks.’ You may have to be ‘meaner than a junkyard dog’to keep them from taking over that nice spot at the top from you.
Advice From a Dog
To avoid your days being like the story above, you may want to have a conversation with your dog. From their perspective humans are a strange species, they do strange things and seem to get themselves stressed-out about all kind of stuff.
I asked my dog Louis for his best advice to humans, he says:
Work Hard, Play Hard,
Pull your weight when requires,
When you lost your way, dig deep
Sniff out the right opportunities
Chase out the bad ones,
Trust your intuition,
Learn new tricks no matter your age,
Growl and bark when the situation requires desperate measures,
Guide the blind souls who cannot see clearly,
Celebrate small victories when they come your way,
Love what you do,
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk,
When love ones come home,
Always run to greet them. © Joanne Reed
This my dear friend, is how a dog lives his life. Maybe we can learn some new tricks from our canine friends, they have it all figured out!
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