Living Like a Dog

Like probably about 90 percent of the people that live on this planet I'm continually searching for that magical formula that's going to bring me eternal peace and happiness or, at the very least, the desire to get out of bed and face the day. And after years of searching I think I've finally found it. Forget the self help books, the meditation, the yoga, the self medication with a bottle of wine - all I need to be happy is to take after Porter and live life like a dog. Not live "as a dog" (that would be quite the trick) but "like a dog."
And what exactly does it mean to live like a dog? After spending the last five days with a dog as practically my only company and having the opportunity to observe him for about 20 hours a day I have come to the conclusion that living like a dog simply means waking up every day and just accepting whatever the day may bring-good or bad - because there's not really much you can do about it. It is what it is.  Does a dog wake up worrying about what the other dogs at the dog park are going to think of him? Is he afraid he's too old and fat and slow to chase after the ball and that he's going to lose out to the younger, skinnier, faster dogs? Of course not. He simply goes out there and if someone throws him the ball that's great. He'll do his best to get it.  If he doesn't get that one he doesn't care because  there's bound to be another ball eventually and maybe he will get lucky and get that one.  Or maybe not. It doesn't matter because it's just a ball and as along as he's out there trying to get it that's enough for him.
And I love the way a dog can take the same route on his walk everyday but to him there's always a new smell to experience or something new to see that he might have missed the time before and that makes it all brand new. Or something as simple as walking the same route in reverse turns it into a whole different thing. How wonderful to be able to avoid falling into that daily rut when you're able to treat every day as a new one.

Dogs accept you for who you are. Just a quick crotch sniff or a nose in the butt is all they need to be able to judge that you're okay. They don't care that you're carrying last year's purse or carrying an extra ten pounds. As long as you talk to them in a nice tone of voice, give them the occasional scratch behind the ears and feed them at the same time every night you're pretty okay in a dog's book. And even if you do occasionally yell at them or forget to feed them until it's time for bed, that's okay too.  Because tomorrow is a new day. And all is forgiven.