UIOK: Live like a dog

We’ve had a dog for the past 3 months. Before getting Fox I was a bit reticent about having a dog with us full time as I was worried it would have some weird effects on my life. Well it has, but not in the ways that I was concerned about. I’d definitely smitten, and if you head over to the uncomfortable is OK Instagram page you’ll be able to see why with a few snaps from her there. It was definitely one of the best wedding vows that I made.

She’s changed my life for the better through pointing out a few things to me that I should really know but that she just hammered home. Here are a couple this week, and if you’re lucky there might be a few future episodes about what I’ve learned from dogs.

Dogs are always present. They’re always involved in what they are doing to the fullest, they’re not messing about thinking about their to do list while they’re sniffing another dog’s butt, they’re not worrying what someone thought of them while they eat that chicken sandwich that someone left on the ground, they’re not worrying about what might happen while they attack the new bed that you bought for them that they think is just an oversized chew toy. I’m not saying that planning or thinking about things is bad, but just that when dogs are doing, then they’re all in. I could definitely benefit from being more like that. I get distracted by my to-do list, reviewing things in my head, or the latest sparkly distraction that I’m not always present for the important times. If I have too many of these times then by the end of the day I look back and feel I’ve just drifted on through even if I’ve done what I said I was going to.

Everything is an adventure for a dog. Going out into the backyard is exciting, walking around the same block most days is exciting, going to the same dog park is exciting, and going anywhere new is super doper exciting!

Part of this excitement comes from always being present to what is going on. They are so wrapped up in what is going down, that that is all they are doing, the ride that until it’s done.

Getting excited about the same things confused me a little at first, until I figured out that they aren’t the same things. Everything is new to a dog. Yeah they might be in a familiar environment that they’ve been in before, but there is always something new going on. Things are laid out in a slightly different way. Different people and animals have been passed and left new smells to sniff. Someone has left a bit of food on the footpath to be wolfed down hungrily. No two experiences are exactly the same if we look at them closely enough. There is always an element of newness that hasn’t been there before to get excited about. So even the most mundane task that you’ve done thousands of times before is different to what happened last time. The challenge now is to look for that newness and get excited about it like a dog.

Host: Chris Desmond

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