This Post Is Ode to Maggy
Downward Facing Doggy
My 2 year old Goldendoodle, Maggy, is snoozing in the corner right now. She has no idea this blog post is about her. In fact, she doesn’t even know (or care!) what a blog is. Further, she has no idea that, based on reports that Obama’s children may be selecting a Goldendoodle as the First Puppy, she’s about to become the most famous breed of dog in the world. She doesn’t care; although I’m sure she’ll love the additional attention she’ll attract on her morning walks. I can’t be sure, but I think she thinks the computer is my master. Admittedly, I do stare at it a good deal, I do rush to its side when it calls me (well, sometimes), and, yes, I often spend more time working on the computer than I do walking her.
Maggy is My Guru
I have decided to make Maggy my Guru simply because, for me, she seems to embody most of the characteristics of a good guru. A guru, says Wikipedia, is a person who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and uses it to guide others. Other sources simply say a guru is a “spiritual leader” and make no requirement that a guru has two legs versus four. Actually, the word guru comes from the Sanskrit words “gu” and “ru”. Gu means darkness and ru means light. A guru brings light into darkness. Thus, I have decided, for now, there is a lot I can learn from Maggy.
Here are the things that make Maggy, and most dogs, natural gurus:
- Lives in the present moment
- Ego-less
- Holds downward dog pose for 30 seconds (or more) with no problem
- Drops into meditation (snooze-ville) at the drop of a hat
- Forgives and forgets instantly
- Protects those she loves
- Kind no matter what
- Does not judge others
- Always happy to see me
- Loves to chase balls
- Likes to smell other dog’s bums
- Hates cats – actually she doesn’t hate cats, she loves cats, she’s obsessed with them and follows our 2 cats around our house
Zen and the Art of Sniffing a Two-Legged Dog
Walking with Maggy yesterday near our home, we came across a dog with two legs. In order to enable the dog to walk, he laid in a a doggy-wheelchair that had two wheels on the back. He walked by scuffling his front legs forward, which turned the back wheels. Interestingly, the dog had a huge smile on his face as if he didn’t notice at all that he was different from any other dog. He lacked self-judgment and I admired his spunk. Maggy, who normally avoids wheels of all sorts, paused for a moment, cocked her head to one side, and examined this two-legged, two-wheeled creature. I wondered what she was thinking and, worried she may lurch, braced myself. Maggy, however, calmly proceeded forward and tried to smell her new-found friend’s bum through the wheels.
I’ve been searching for a guru for quite some time now and and come to found out, my guru, wet nose and all, sleeps at my feet each night. So, until I get to India and meet a speaking, human guru, I think Maggy my Goldendoodle will do just fine.
Wuff, Wuff.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Excellent post! It must be great to be a creature with no concept of the word “depression”.
lol
So true! You don’t need to go far to find inspirational examples of wisdom… Great post!
Great post. Mika gives it two paws up!
I enjoyed reading about Maggy. It was interesting how you captured the antics of Maggy, the dog, and interpreted them for us to see what our four-legged friends might be thinking. You, also, paid tribute to man’s best friend and brought a lot of humor to mind as I pictured her expresssions as she tried to figure out the two-legged dog.
Thanks for a good read!