Teachings of Dog - No.4

Daisy is our youngest member of staff. At just turned two, she is endearingly barmy, with a lightness of foot that always brings to mind a floating dandelion seed. Sometimes, when she is running, she will make a flying leap into the air, seemingly for no other reason than sheer joy of living.

I had to take her to the vet's on Wednesday for her annual injection; a procedure to which she took grave exception, nobly demonstrated when she was volubly sick all over the consulting table. I expected that when we arrived home she would be a bit quiet, but no - apart from a tendency to demand more cuddles, she was her own, tiny dancing self again.

Daisy's teachings:

• Live in the moment.
• Dance whenever you have the opportunity.
• Forgive all and bear no grudges.
• When you feel like you want a cuddle - ask.

Teachings of Dog - No.3

Theo the schnauzer has to be one of the most ebulliently joyful creatures with whom it has been my pleasure to share my life. His sheer boundless enthusiasm and wanton curiosity for just about anything in his universe is a lesson in itself. He'll be gratefully appreciative of any gift you care to give him (even if you personally wouldn't consider it a treat - raw potato or spinach accidentally dropped will be happily accepted) and gives in return his abundant happiness and pleasure in your company. He also knows everything there is to know about relaxation and makes the best relaxing noises I've ever heard... his favourite place to be is cuddled up on the sofa with as many of his friends (human and canine) as will fit.

Theo's teachings:

• Be grateful for everything you receive. Everything.
• Show your friends how much you appreciate being with them.
• Learn how to relax...
• Joy is an attitude of mind - it comes from within.
• Enthusiasm and curiosity make your world an amazing place to live.

Teachings of Dog - No.2

Lily, as her name suggests, is a white dog. Well, usually she is white, but occasionally some other colours creep in to add a little variety...

Last weekend John gave the lawn what was hopefully one of the last cuts of the season, but the grass was terribly wet and the mower left clumps of wet cut grass all over the lawn. The dogs were all very excited about the fact that we were in the garden and decided to have a very mad game of chase. When Lily came in, her feet were a bright, fluorescent green...

Another of Lily's passions is coal - for some reason she adores it and can't resist eating small pieces from the coal bucket (quite a feat if it's a bit empty - she's a small dog - we've just never had the heart to stop her!). Always a bit of a giveaway, however, when she wanders innocently into the office - with black whiskers and black tips to her ears...

Lily's teachings:

• Let go once in a while - forget about your appearance and have fun!
• Do whatever it takes to achieve your goals (or coals, in Lily's case), even if you might have to put up with others thinking you look stupid.
• Sometimes things might have an alternative use which nobody else has considered.
• Weirdness is what individuality is all about. You are always free to be weird whenever you want to be.

Teachings of Dog - No.1

I learn a lot about rapport and tolerance from watching our five dogs, and I wanted to share some of my learnings with my Blog readers.

The first in the series comes from Poppy - a diminutive Lhasa Apso of endearing temperament and enormous character. When she first came to us she had very sore feet due to a chronic infection. After the dogs have been out in the garden, if their feet are wet and muddy then we dry them on a towel before allowing them out of the kitchen, but Poppy could not tolerate this at all as she found it too painful. However, she didn't like having wet feet, so she worked out a way to solve the problem... Now, if we put the towel down on the floor, she will dry her own feet by scratching around in the towel (which she also finds great fun!).

Poppy's teachings:

• There is always more than one way of achieving your outcome - pick the one that is the most fun.
• Don't just complain about something you don't like - ask yourself if it is possible for you to do anything about it and, if so, take responsibility and take action.
• What activities do you really enjoy which you can use in another context?

Friday's Poetry Corner

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light;
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams.
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

William Butler Yeats

Mid-Week Inspiration

"To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic, it is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasise in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places - and there are so many - where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning-top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvellous victory." - Howard Zinn