Our bodies are such crazy universes. There is so much going on all of the time to keep us alive- and we all know this of course. We are a crazy complex of cells, a strange and complicated biological algorithm that just so happened to work. And thank God for that, because if certain individuals did not exist in my life, I would be nowhere. Actually I would be lost in a dark cave somewhere, probably reminiscent of my last home in Georgetown.
I’m not talking about my friends and family. Sure they’re important, I guess… But no no, not them. I’m not even talking about humans. I am talking about individuals of the canine persuasion. Dogs make me happy. So happy. And I am not alone on this… in fact, it has been shown (in a study by someone, somewhere, I don’t know I read it online…) that the presence of a dog in your life automatically lowers your blood pressure. I am going to assume that this study was done only on people who had never been attacked by dogs as children. Safe assumption, unless it was in fact done on people who HAD been attacked by dogs and are pseudo-masochistic.
I have been missing my dog terribly and wondering why, thinking that perhaps the void left in her absence could be filled by something or someone else. But the qualities of a canine companion seem, upon reflection, to be both unique and irreplaceable within a human context. They are softer than we are, they are more forgiving that we are, and they lick more than we do- which is an important example of a species barrier that should be maintained. Another characteristic of note is the ability of a dog to listen, really listen, to a human. We are so often caught in conversations that resemble a table tennis match of self-relevance- waiting only for the moment to relate someone’s comment to a story that is inevitably more important because it pertains to us. I don’t pretend to think that dogs wouldn’t do this if they could, but unlike humans, dogs can look you in the eye, listen to your voice, and not pass any judgement on your words. And unlike cats, they can look you in the eye, listen to your voice, and not meow until you do something to please them.
It is also an important exercise to speak when there is no one else around… it’s kind of like the tree falling in the woods idea. Sure, your dog is there, but who are you really talking to? Yourself! Now this is something I have never understood. If you sing to yourself, you are having a good time. If you speak to yourself, you are crazy. Is it really that important to put your words to a melody? What if we spoke songs to ourselves? What if we sang our thoughts? You can sing in the shower… but can you just talk in the shower?
Sidetracked… my apologies. One last thing about dogs. Humans, as previously stated, are complicated messes of physical and emotional chaos. Dogs provide simplicity. They are hungry, tired, scared, excited, happy… usually only one emotion at a time. They have very little baggage. They are loyal. They want food, warmth, shelter and sex (well some of them). This can express itself in ways that we, as humans, find hard to take. When I was in Kenya, I worked at an orphanage where a female dog had just had ten babies… within the first week she had eaten all of them to stay alive. Sad, yes, but she would have had no way to keep them alive even if she had tried. These qualities can also manifest themselves in wonderful ways that reflect purpose in life, that can keep us humans grounded- connected to a natural world that we often forget/ignore/overlook. You can see this when you curl up in bed next to your dog. It is a symbiotic relationship- you are keeping each other warm- and you are saving each other from being lonely. And if for nothing else, your dog needs you for that. Attention, warmth, shelter, food… it sounds like a lot but it’s not very much if we consider what we would give to a human who provided us with this kind of unconditional love. Dogs are realistic- and it is comforting to know that even through that realism, the importance of relationships and togetherness survives. Hobbes was right, we are selfish, but so are dogs. We should take a hint from our canine friends: this world is rough… we need to cuddle to survive.
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