Why you should 'be more dog'!
If you can sit quietly after difficult news; if, in financial downturns you remain perfectly calm; if you can see your neighbours travel to fantastic places without a twinge of jealousy; if you could happily eat whatever is put on your plate; if you can fall asleep after a day of running around without a drink or a pill; if you can always find contentment just where you are: you are probably a dog.
Jack Kornfield got it spot on there, dogs experience things without judgement, analysis, or wishing they were different (as far as we know!). Have you ever noticed how much joy they find in each activity, they appreciate the little things. Imagine a life where more frequently you experience things just as they are and then move swiftly on, without analysis and making lots of judgements. Dogs find satisfaction in daily activities, without wondering 'what's next'. Nice isn't it...? We all want contentment, to experience more ease in our lives.
So, we all could do with being a little more dog. It's ok to analyse things sometimes, to make judgements when necessary, but sometimes it's good to just let things be. How often does an experience become more painful due to the tyranny of thought we attach to it, the judgements we make about it and the trying to understand, predict and explain why it occurred. Often we analyse a situation or run through it in our minds as a coping strategy, or as a way to protect ourselves. However, sometimes this results in us being boggled, stressed, confused and maybe even experiencing physical complaints like headache and tiredness. It's ok sometimes to just sit with something and the immediate feeling that it brings, without much analysis. Sit with the raw emotion of it, without creating scenarios, for example the what ifs, buts or maybes. You may have heard the saying 'what we feel we heal'. It's often easier to move on if we experience an emotion head on, without all of the other stuff.
The same can be applied to happy, joyful moments too. We can cause suffering by dreading the ending, or wondering how we can create this moment again. Allow the good moments to pass too, without chasing after them in your mind. The wonderful moments can be held in your heart and memory without craving, because before you know it the next magical moment will arrive. You might miss it if you are still hankering after the last. The more we can develop a way of being with each moment, the more pleasure and joy we will find in our lives. Just experiencing things in greater detail and resting with each action or experience, will calm the mind and heighten the senses. So, be more dog, lie around basking in the sunshine, spend time enjoying the little things and don't give yourself a hard time when you walk mud up the stairs.
However, it's really not ok to go and chase the neighbours cat.