Yes, I’m dog guy ! I’m sure there is something about litter-boxes, hairballs, and animals on kitchen counters that is irresistible. Hey, if we were all the same it would be boring. Everyone has heard the same stuff about how special a dog is in that they are always glad to see you. But, there is more !
During my 66 years I believe there may have been at most ten years (not all at one time) that I have not had a dog or rather a dog has not had me. I really do not want to know the monies that have been spent. My current friend Daisy, who is a rescue dog, has had over six thousand dollars in surgery for her hind legs. My Vet told me that the surgery was not required as the dog will adapt. My retort was Doc this is my dog and buddy, not my wife. I guess you now know I’m happily divorced.
I’m a fan of Deepak Chopra and recently saw a DVD where he talked about his friend the dog whisperer whose name is Cesar Millan. Millan commented the happiest dogs were found generally in such countries as Mexico, Cuba, and South Amercia, the USA was near the bottom with Russia at the bottom. When asked how he treated dogs that were unhappy he said he put them with happy dogs. Simple? However there was a “catch” ! Often the dogs when returned home they became unhappy and lethargic quickly. Upon a little research it was soon discovered “DAH” the owners were unhappy.
There was an interesting study done that looked at why people are happy. The premise is there are two paths to happiness which are internal and external happiness. Internal being people that strive to derive happiness from having a comfort level with “who they are” whereas external being people that derive happiness from their accomplishments, possessions, and status. I must confess I have subscribed to second vision most of my life. Far be from me to take sides in the debate, however as I’ve aged (gracefully I might add) the first concept has become more attractive. I have come to the conclusion that my vision of who and what I am revolves mostly about what I think people want me to be. From an early age we all want to be accepted and most of us have this vision of how to accomplish this goal which normally is very dependent on self image. Hey, one advantage of age is the realization we are likely to not change thus “world what you see is what you get”.
OK, we all have to much stuff/ what to do ? As I have said in prior posts Wayne Dyer is someone whose work I enjoy. Several years ago he decided he needed to cleanse himself of “stuff”. At the time he was living in Florida and had a condo. One day he handed the keys to his assistant and told her to sell, give away, or generally dispose of everything. He has said it was a very liberating event. However, in retrospect a little more planning might have helped as a number irreplaceable items are now gone. About a year ago I came up with my plan which consisted of: 1. Every time I brought something new in the house something had to go 2. Everyday I had to dispose of one possession. This worked well and was actually fun for about 93 days and then became work as tough choices had to made regarding the purging. It has been over a year and yes I’m still on it. I’m getting close to considering if rubber bands and paper clips count.
TRY IT / LET ME KNOW
It has been said often people with a great deal of money are unhappy. I recently read that Billionaires are more likely to be unhappy or suffer from the depression than the general public. I’m willing to offer my services to cheer them up / for a price. I do not remember seeing people at the bottom of the income spectrum being happier than billionaires and thus research needs to be done identifying just what the optimum income is eternal bliss. I willing to offer myself up for such a research project. I think maybe being a billionaire for a couple of years and working through the depression. I will report back after Warren Buffet contributes a billion allowing for study.
Jeff