Be a Pup

These days, it’s tough to find things to be excited about. The economy is still in ruins in spite of what the government and corporations claim in the news. People with good credit are still stuck in high interest mortgages because their homes are upside down, and nobody’s looking at that. BP’s belching oil into the Gulf of Mexico like it doesn’t matter. You can’t go to the grocery store to buy dinner and a couple of miscellaneous items without spending over $70, and the weather everywhere seems to be carrying out a personal vendetta against the land based species of the planet. Thus we find ourselves in the malleable state the government and the powerful want us to be. Listening to the news and buying into it because we just don’t seem willing to question what we’re hearing. We’re victims right? Being beaten by those in power and there’s nothing we can do. You can’t be serious!

This is Puppy

This morning I awoke early because it was freezing in the house. I quickly got up and put on a pair of comfy sweats and opened the bedroom door, there she was, the puppy. In the interest of protecting her anonymity, we’ll just call her puppy. She’s excited to see me, excited about starting a new day, and overall just loving life.

We head downstairs and follow our rituals; I let her out (her tail high in the air), then go brush my teeth. When I’m done I go check on her through the window and see her playing with a leaf. She paws at it, it moves, she runs around in little circles. Next she picks up the leaf and runs around with it for a few, drops it when she sees one of her many toys distributed throughout the yard and follows the same process with the toy the leaf enjoyed.

You can’t be serious, and that’s my point. I stopped for a moment and looked at how she greeted the day and how I greeted the day:

Me: I’m freezing. – negative
Her: It’s morning, yippee! – positive

Me: What a way to wake up? – negative
Her: Is that my tail? – positive

Me: I have to let Puppy out – neutral
Her: Is that sunshine I see? – positive

Me: My mouth feels like an army has marched through barefoot – negative
Her: What’s that laying on the deck? – positive

Me: OK, my mouth is now clean, I feel better. – positive (hey, my first one of the day)
Her: Whoohoo – positive

Me: Caffeine, need it now – neutral (this could have gone either way)
Her: The sun feels great!! – positive

Me: I have my caffeine. – positive (I’m on a roll)
Her: What’s that over there (dropping leaf) – Positive

Me: ….. – neutral
Her: Whoohoo – positive

Let’s check the score to see who’s winning so far today since it’s only been 15 minute. Positives are 1, neutrals are 0, and negatives are -1:

                             Positive      Neutral      Negative      Score
Seriously                     3          3 zeros            -2              1
Puppy                         8          0                      0               8

Looks like I’m losing by a sound margin, what’s the deal? I’m supposed to be the party with the higher evolved intelligence, but this puppy is giving me a sound thrashing. I’m the one with the years of experience, but still I’m losing the game, have I learned nothing? Seriously, you seem to be taking the world to seriously.

What does it all mean? It means we should learn from puppies how to approach life. Wake in the morning and force yourself to think yippee! Look outside and see the sun and think what a beautiful day. Seriously don’t take things so seriously and allow yourself to enjoy the day and life as a whole. While we may have more responsibilities than Puppy, we also control how we react to the input our senses receive. Don’t let the powerful rule how you live your life, and seize each day. Be a puppy for a while and live, aim your tail to the sky. You’ll find this an easy habit to form and the basis of a more positive life. Be happy, be a pup, and try not to be so serious.

- Seriously