When Licking The Plate Is The Most Exciting Part Of Your Day
Humans could learn a thing or two about gratitude from dogs.
As I sat here writing this my dog was lying at my feet intently staring at me. It’s because I had a plate of hash browns sitting on the desk in front of me.
For every forkful I ate, I gave her one tiny piece of hash brown and she eagerly accepted it as if it was a chocolate-covered nugget of gold. But she’s not only sitting here for the hash browns. She knows what comes next.
When I’m finished, the plate goes on the floor so she can lick it clean and if she’s lucky I’ll leave a few morsels on there as a bonus for her patience. Her plate-cleaning skills are better than my dishwasher.
My dog does plate-licking with a mild sense of hysteria as if it’s the last plate she’ll ever see in her life.
Dogs carry out the most mundane tasks with so much fervor that I wish my life could be so simple and exciting.
If I had a spouse, can you imagine if I woke him at 7 a.m. with a head-butt followed by a body slam? Not only would it NOT be cute but it might be dangerous.
But not when a dog does it.
Assaulting a human at the ass-crack of dawn is the most appropriate way to start any day as a dog. It’s adorable and even acceptable because who isn’t ready for a walk at that hour? I’m not, but that’s beside the point.
In a dog’s life, any time is happy time.
We all know the saying, “It’s five o’clock somewhere.” Well, it’s dog o’clock everywhere at every hour according to dogs.
Waking up from a midday nap on your human’s yoga mat? Amazing!
Being offered the same damn treat you’ve eaten fifteen times a day since birth? Incredible!
Another sprinkler? Unbelievable!
The only thing I hit with fervor each day is my coffee pot but I do have to admit that waking up to someone so happy that I’ve opened my eyes gives me a little jolt of joy. And joy is what we’re all here for, isn’t it?
The most basic task sparks delight in a dog, even if it’s as simple as rifling through the toy basket and finding the octopus arm they ripped off the purple octopus four months ago. It’s like a brand new toy today.
We humans could and probably should learn a thing or two about gratitude from dogs.
In what ways does your dog teach you about gratitude?
Dogs love the yoga mats! such great energy in those things.
My dog trainer said the other day that we tend to humanize dogs and expect them to think and behave like humans...and then she said we shouldn't degrade them to human status, making it very clear that dogs are superior beings on the spiritual heierarchy!
There's a reason spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle often cites dogs as beings who live totally in the present moment and are thus way less worried and way more joyful than most humans.