Firstly, let me start by clarifying that this ain’t a typical blog post
Where I’m going to talk about the fact that
Dogs stand for LOYALTY!
(well yes, they do 100% infact)
But that is not what this blog post is about.
I’m going to share my POV
My personal anecdotes on what I’ve learned from 2 of my closest friends
So allow me to quickly introduce them
Ralphoo aka Ralphiee aka Ralph (the ‘goodiest’ boy)
Kuttapan aka Kutafoooooo aka Mylo (the ‘naughtiest’ boy)
(can’t stop looking at their eyes right? I feel ya…)
I usually do not write such senti EMO posts
But ‘hey’ this one has been on my mind for a very long time
So here it goes….
1. Be wonderfully forgiving
Phewww…. This one is hard, really hard to live by
You’re not a bad person if you’re finding it difficult to forgive someone; you’re only human.
We are programmed to avoid danger. Avoid betrayal.
I hate myself for saying this. But here is what happened ->
I was having a really bad day at work
Came back home late and fixed my usual cup of Blue Tokoi’s Attikan estate pour-over (omgg it’s so good; give it a shot)
It was time for Kuttapan’s evening walk and he wanted me to take him along
I shooed him away since I was impatient and got back to work
As I was finishing up some work emails I reflected on the incident.
I felt bad about it.
Kuttapan just wanted to spend time with me.
Wanted me to join him on a simple 5 minute walk.
What’s so pressing that I can’t spare 5 minutes?
I was feeling ashamed of myself for my reaction.
I went back to his room to apologize.
And to my amazement….
He came bounding out, throwing his front paws on my legs as if I had been gone for weeks.
All I could do was smile and enjoy the moment.
He was clearly delighted to see me.
He had brought me an unexpected gift – forgiveness.
2. Stay cute
I’m probably going to get a lot of hate for this…
But it is what it is
Why do we all love dogs?
Let’s admit it!
It’s cause they are adorable and cutee
We don’t get mad at them
We literally become babies around them
(our voice and body language changes)
We would go to any lengths to protect them
So yea, go grab your skin care kit and start your routine
I’m kidding
By cute, what am I referring to?
I mean your heart. Your personality
Innocence.
Stay kiddish. Have an open mind and be ridiculously curious.
This is how we were all born
(so let’s not forget that)
Stay cute alwaysss. Wink wink
3. Enjoy the simple things in life
A few months back I got back into running
It was like a snake bite
Couldn’t stop running (I used to run almost 3 miles every single day)
I even went to the length of hiring an expensive $$ trainer to build my endurance & stamina
I trained for 120 days without a stop
Every single day I was training
Nonstop. Saturdays & Sundays included.
Anyways this is a different story for another day..
But long story short -> I completed the full-length 42km marathon after months of training
Guess how I was feeling when I crossed the finish line?
I was in cloud nine
Felt like I could achieve anything in life
Top of the world
BS
The reality was very different.
I didn’t feel anything.
I was ofcourse happy for myself for a few seconds.
And felt good that I had completed it.
But that’s it. Nothing less. Nothing more
My legs were shaking after the long run and I couldn’t drive back home
So I took an Uber
As soon as I reached home, Kuttapan was waiting for me and he started jumping and dancing in happiness after seeing me
I was just gone for a few hours and he was so happy to see me and spend time
Dogs can find joy in the simplest of things
Like a walk in the park or a belly rub
I learnt a very important lesson that day
Enjoy the little things in life
It need not be a significant milestone like – finishing a marathon
Simple things like chugging a glass of water after a run
Or a hot shower
Listening to your fav artist’s music on a long drive
This is what I want to get better at
Learning to enjoy the ‘kutti’ (small) things in life
4. Speak less, listen more
Probably a lot of pet owners will be able to relate to this better
Take a random guess at this ->
how many times you speak to your dog in a day?
Well, hard to put a number to this
But it’s a lot
You treat them just like any of your other family
You speak to them as often as you would speak to your mom or dad or siblings
They do reciprocate back.
With their eyes. Paws. Reactions.
But they can’t speak our language
Let’s take a step back to understand the gravity of this
We keep speaking with them and share about our day even though they can’t speak our language
This begs a very important question ->
Why?
It’s cause they speak less and more importantly ‘listen’ to us
You have their undivided attention when you’re speaking to them
Take a look at em, the next time your speaking
‘Listening’ is a superpower
Everybody likes to speak
So, when you do the opposite, everything changes
Just listen and see what the world has to offer
People start opening up more with you
You start experiencing things that you never even knew existed before.
5. Appreciate diversity
People judge us for the way we look
That’s the sad reality
You visit your closed one’s home after ages
Guess the first comment?
Woaahhh, you’ve put on some weight.
How’s the weather back in your town? You’ve tanned quiet a bit..
Oh noooo you poor, you must not have been eating. You’ve become too skinny
Your hair has greyed out…
Blah blah blahhhhhhhh
Dogs on the other hand?
They don’t give a damn
They are just happy, you are back
So much to learn from them..
6. Love unconditionally
This one’s a little emotional
So go grab some tissues, please (yea, I meant it for real)
I had not met Ralphoo in months and recently went to pay him a visit at his home
He was alone since his family had stepped outside for a pooja to a temple and I was there to babysit him
And take him for this usual 6pm walk in the evening
I was so excited to see him
So excited (he he)
I took the stairs to buy myself some time before I could reach their house
Cause, so many things were going on in my mind
Will Ralphoo remember me? (cause I had only met him a couple of times before this)
What if he thinks I’m a stanger?
Will he enjoy my company? Or will I ruin this Saturday?
As I reached the doorstep, I carefully took small steps to gauge his reaction
He noticed me entering
And zoooooopppppp he went
He started running around the whole house in excitement for 5mts straight
I was in aweeee
We call this behaviour “horse” within our family when he does this
He usually does this when he is extremely happy
When he is in bliss
Oh goddddd, this was too much for me to handle
My eyes started tearing up
I couldn’t believe that just my presence could make someone so happy
“I felt special”
Well, let me rephrase this better
“He made me feel special”
LOVE is what holds us together
Let’s not be afraid to show our LOVE
And love unconditionally
7. Sleep well
Every single health study out there in the internet
Suggests 3 lifestyle changes –
- Eat clean
- Drink plenty of water
- Sleep well
Sleeping well consistently over a prolonged period improves
Our mental health, physical health, metabolism, immunity and so much more
(there is no downside to this habit)
Have you observed dogs?
They sleep like babies for long hours
So let’s make some time for ‘sleep’ and prioritise it
I misspelled ‘dogs’ as ‘gods’ when writing this blog multiple times.
Guess that wasn’t a coincidence after all. Maybe a signal from above?
Well indeed, dogs are a blessing.
A true blessing to humanity.
Let’s protect and take care of them.
And most importantly -> keep learning from them.
Evolving perceptions 