Our dog lends a sympathetic ear when we need someone to listen and a supportive shoulder when we need
someone to lean on. If our emotional train is heading down a destructive track, our dog can throw a switch to divert it in a more positive direction. If we’re happy, our dog knows it and celebrates with us. Always aware, even of minute shifts in the emotional breeze, dogs neither judge nor criticize nor advise; they just love and listen unconditionally. The root of the word emotion is “move,” and dogs can move emotional
mountains. Big boys who don’t cry shed tears at an old canine friend’s passing, and Type A overachievers discover the joy of stopping to smell the roses (or the fire hydrant) by following a dog’s lead. Over the years, I’ve been heartened to see caregivers who are usually quiet or controlled break out of their
shells to express uncensored feelings about their dogs. Those who are typically unaccustomed to going the extra mile will call me ask for for a consultation for treatment. Dogs not only motivate feelings but also model them. Honest and not self-conscious, dogs wear their hearts on their furry sleeves. They display their emotions clearly, without calculation or
hidden agendas, and respond spontaneously to the situation at hand. Dogs don’t hold grudges. What would our lives be like if we could welcome home family members with genuine enthusiasm, no matter how hard a day it’s been, instantly forgive a clumsy step on the toe, or feel vulnerable enough to seek comfort
in a scary storm? Dogs don’t need special training
or a purpose-bred body to fulfill a role among humans. The Westie who alerts the household that the mail has arrived, the Golden Retriever who waits with tail thumping for his young friend to come home from school, and the Beagle who curls up at bedside when Mom has the flu are all doing important jobs that
improve the welfare of their chosen pack. “Work” of any type keeps dogs healthy and whole. It tones their bodies, engages their minds, and strengthens their relationship with the human species. How else can we explain why dogs risk,
and sometimes lose, their lives helping humans if not for the bond with their extended families?
We have the chance to experience the moment and to connect with our ancient past in a direct, elemental way when we make room in our hearts for a dog. Our brain fog clears, our senses
are heightened, our emotions are accessible, and our spirits are elevated and refreshed as we relax with our four-legged friends.
If you want to feel what I mean, it’s as simple as taking a walk with your dog. Suddenly, you will be able to smell the fresh air, see the beauty of your surroundings, and share
the dog’s thrill of adventure, even if you take the same route every day. You can let a wave of love wash over you that comes just from being with a trusted and trusting companion. I feel sorry for someone who has never known the unconditional love of a canine companion. Too many people I meet are so busy going about their lives that they forget what living is all about. Our dogs provide an immediate and penetrating perspective into our real lives in a world where the value of joy of the spirit is too often forgotten. The deep connection we have with our dogs is derived from a spiritual source. Dogs are a link to a spiritual—if you will, divine—dimension within all of us, a dimension in our lives from which we’ve become increasingly separated in our world of seemingly endless noise. Native American legends remind us that we were once nurtured by the “family” of all living things, part of a harmonious whole. Once we communicated with all animals as our equals, and we had great respect for all forms of life. But one day, the Great Spirit opened a chasm between the humans and the animals. This chasm was narrow at first. The dog looked at the human and was uncertain whether to stay
or go with the animals. So he jumped over to his animal friends. As the chasm widened, he jumped back and
forth, undecided, between the human and the animal worlds. Finally, at the last moment before the chasm was too wide, he took a great leap and forever joined with the humans. It remains this way to this day. Today, our ears are filled with ringing cell phones instead of singing
birds. We spend more time sitting in traffic than under the stars. No wonder we often feel empty and exhausted; we have lost touch with the pulse that beats through all life. One way to become reconnected and recharged is through our relationship with dogs, reliable guides who can lead us along on a path toward
oneness with ourselves, with others, with the world around us, and with whatever may lie beyond. Dogs live closer to nature than humans do, without such layers of insulation as houses, cars, and clothes. Their paws are on the earth, their noses in the air, their eyes and ears alert to the faintest rustle in the leaves. As we go exploring at their pace,
treading lightly as they do, we have the chance to get acquainted with the natural world, which evokes a sense of tranquility and wonder. While the “civilized” world makes constant demands on us, nature is constant only in sharing its abundant beauty, with no expectation of return, letting us know that we are all
members of a peaceable kingdom. This is why witnessing a rainbow, watching a hummingbird hover, or wading in the ocean waves simply feels so good: the spirit is being showered with the gifts it needs to flourish. Besides increasing our awareness of the world around us and our own selves, dogs help us tune in to others. Precisely because they are not human, dogs show us how to value diversity and cultivate tolerance of others, regardless how different they may be. While humans often have trouble deciding who they are and tend to define themselves by their jobs and their possessions, dogs act from an unwavering spiritual core without being
distracted by the irrelevant. Dogs see our essence, accepting and appreciating each of us for the unique beings we truly are. They make us feel loved, and we in turn become the loving beings reflected in our dogs’ eyes. When we spend an extra five minutes playing ball with our dog even if we’re exhausted, we are exercising our soul along with our body. And the stronger our spiritual muscles become, the easier it is to flex them in all of our relationships. There is an old joke about the neurotic dyslexic agnostic insomniac who lies awake at night, worrying if there is a Dog. Of course, dogs are not the ultimate divinity (that would be cats—or so they think!). But dogs have a singular capacity to reawaken our slumbering
spirits by reminding us that we two-leggeds, with our opposable thumbs and vastly inferior sense of smell, are also integral parts of the natural world. Dogs expose us to new forms of communication, improving our ability to interpret subtle cues such as body language or facial expressions.
This develops our empathy, which expands when we not only recognize another’s needs but also put them ahead of our own—which, not
coincidentally, is how dogs behave toward humans. Whatever power you believe fuels the spiritual universe, dogs plug us right into it. They relay a divine spark of energy that transforms our burned-out spirits and propels our passage through life. Through our connection with dogs, we tap into a limitless source of meaning and purpose, a vital
current of wisdom and values from which we draw such qualities as compassion, sacrifice, integrity, hope, and loyalty. Dogs set an example in both the ways they lead their own lives and the opportunities they present to us in conducting ours. Dogs, more keenly than humans, understand the unity of all life and know that the good of the whole depends on the contribution of each part.
How do you feel about this email? |
|
|
|
|
