On Being Trained by a Dog

"This is perhaps why animals (particularly our dogs) are so important to us and why we benefit from their companionship:  they root us in life."  

Staying in the present can be such a challenging thing.  It's always so easy to think of tomorrow, anticipating needs and wants.  It's also fairly easy to look back and dwell on decisions and actions from the past.  But, staying in the present is something that requires a lot of self-discipline and awareness.  Placed in this context, acquiring my new puppy, Tucker, has been much more a case of him training me than me training him. 

The quote above is taken from The Art of Raising a Puppy, a book written by The Monks of Skete.  I read this book in preparation for bringing Tucker home, and there were so many insights into the nature of dogs and the co-mingling of the human and canine spirits.  The quote above, though, struck me as particularly profound because I've struggled with staying in the present for as long as I can remember.  I lean much more to the side of preparing in advance for everything, even those things not very likely to pop up.  In the end, I usually have everything from Plan A to Plan E covered, including all associated variables.  But, after reading the above quote, I decided that I would immerse myself in this facet about which the monks write because losing the present to the future, in the end, is no fun.

So far, this has been such an enriching experience.  House training and all of the other tedious tasks of welcoming a new furry friend take on a totally new meaning when it's about the challenge of staying in the present.  You don't want to slip from the present only to find that your new friend has had an accident on the floor.  You don't want to slip from the present as those soulful eyes trace your movements, just waiting for that moment when you'll acknowledge him.  You don't want to stare off into space as your new companion discovers the leaves dancing across the grass as the wind is whipping.  In the first instance, it's simply bad for you both, but in the latter two instances, the bonding is unlike anything I've ever experienced before. 

I have found the old cliche to be true.  Dogs really are man's best friend because they can single-handedly rescue you from your self-obsessions and remind you how much amazing growth and beauty are around us all of the time, waiting to be observed.  With each new day, Tucker demonstrates new growth and understanding of the world around him.  Watching this is humbling because it's a reminder that all of those skills and processes we have in our own lives require a very elaborate balance and hundreds, if not thousands, of natural processes.  The monks were right:  they root us in life.