Spiritual Wisdom From Our Dogs
🐶 SPIRITUAL WISDOM FROM OUR DOGS 🐶
As a dog lover, I often sit with them and reflect on the life wisdom my pooches have taught me. Here are today’s top 4.
1. Consideration of others. Dogs always seek to please the people around them, adapting to changing situations without missing a beat… “oh, we are going for a walk? Great”... “oh we are relaxing on the sofa - great!”... “I’m eating kibble today - great!”. Whatever we (the humans) decide, our dogs are up for it without challenging us on it. And this reminds me to be even more considerate of others, especially in this pandemic time when we need to be considerate of others with social protocols. I can hear my dogs saying “Oh, we are wearing masks today- great!”. Now, if only we could be that considerate too!
2. Acceptance. Dogs easily have the ability to transition from one situation to another. As mentioned above, they easily adapt to changing routines. Going for a walk today, not going for a walk today… whatever is happening today - they go with it. As though they were little buddhist monks, pooches know to not struggle with what is. Dogs have the right attitude and an adventurous spirit to explore what life presents to them be it changes in homes, routines, the people around them, new toys, new places or a smell to explore. This reminds me to keep an adventurous spirit during these changing times and to go with the flow just like in my yoga practice. Why resist the changes? It just brings more struggle.
3. Being Present. Ever notice how a dog can come lick your hand minutes after being scolded? As if saying “Please forgive me, I forgive you, it’s in the past now”? Dogs don’t hold grudges or ponder what happened 5 minutes ago, or what’s to come tomorrow. They have an incredible ability to live in the present moment! And as Amanda Ree has said “The present is where peace resides”. So when I struggle a bit these days to feel peace in my mind - I turn to my dogs and enjoy a moment of being present with them. It instantly reduces my heart rate and cortisol level and so I know I’m also triggering the relaxation response.
4. Pack Mentality. Dogs are primed to live in packs or families. They thrive when together, and struggle more when alone. And they don’t judge who’s in the pack! They adapt to whomever or whatever is in their pack - be it a cat, a pig, a human or 2 or 5. Dogs look beyond the differences to instead focus on how to make it work. These days, we spend a tremendous amount of time with our pack and may be getting a wee bit annoyed at some of its members. Dogs remind me to look past the differences or annoyances in my pack and instead focus on how we can make it work.
Dogs clearly have perfected mindful living! Little beings full of wisdom. Enjoy your dogs today!
Karine Johnston LICSW CCA
Post inspired by Amanda Ree.