Lessons From a Pooch
Dear friends,
I had a most interesting experience some time ago…
I went to Castro Street for a walk with my wife and to have a coffee at Red Rock. Outside the shop I saw a cute, tiny dog. A woman had the adult dog in a small baby carriage. I moved to pet it, but it didn’t act quite right, so she said, “Oh, he’s blind. He had a progressive eye disease.” I leaned toward it and made a kissing sound to attract his attention, and she said, “Oh, he doesn’t hear very well.”
Struck at these twin maladies I said, "He sure seems happy.” She replied that he was very happy. Her husband said he’s kind of like a Roomba: he walks around and gently bumps into something, and then just changes direction, sniffing happily all the while.
Wow. What a great attitude! (The dog, not the husband.) This got me thinking. Why can’t we adapt to reality so effortlessly? I was reminded of a song my spiritual teacher wrote, a line of which is, “Grief’s one thing and complainin’ another/ Why multiply grief with despair?!”
Our mind gets stuck in what-was, what-ought-to-be, what's-not-fair, and why-me. Life happens, and unfortunate things happen. Our response to those things is what determines the quality of our life. We can’t control what happens around us but we can work towards becoming better and better at accepting what cannot be changed. Acceptance is not feeling defeated or stressed. It is the highest and most glorious of victories. Yogananda talked about having as a goal to be able to stand calm and peaceful amidst the crash of breaking worlds. I myself can get bent out of shape in a grocery store line. Hmmm... seems like somewhat of a gap there, eh?
I never thought I’d learn a lesson outside Red Rock from a blind pooch. May we walk with an open heart and learn from the world around us at all times, as Spirit can speak to us in ever new and unexpected ways.
Blessings,
David G., manager
For the staff at East West