The Dog That Visited Himself

On one recent chilled and sunny day as I walked along the Cedar River, I passed by a man walking his dog. The dog was small and of indeterminate breed. Most notable about this dog, however, was his enormous energy and friendliness. As I walked uphill toward him, he bounded toward me, dragging along his owner. It was then that I noticed that this spry animal, that I had been watching run down the river walk for some time, had only three legs. He did not limp or lean or tire. He did not seem to notice at all.

In a recent reading of a set of beloved emails I was reminded of two fundamental life truths:

Rumi said somewhere, “Have you visited yourself lately?”

– This is an admonition to be self-aware and self-reflective, to not be so outwardly focused that you forget who you are. In religious terms, one might say that it is important not to be so heaven bound that you are no earthly good (to yourself or anyone else). As this young three-legged dog ran along the path, all I saw was joy. He did not let three legs hamper him. In his own doggish way, it was clear that he visited himself every single second.

It is important to think of life as dessert.

– Life is hard, painful and long if we let it be. But we can temper its challenges by how we approach it. Americans and others from Westerns countries are continually amazed by the tenacity of and happiness they find in the citizens of developing countries. “How can they be so happy with so little?,” we ask. Or, we want to know, what accounts for the resilience of some people in the face of tragedy? Though the answer involves a complex of psychological factors that will not be dealt with here, those people – and this little doggie – often approach life as dessert. Life may give you three short legs but it is good to know that there is a sunny day, a rolling river, a loving friend at the end of your tether, a community of fellow river denizens and delicious bowl of kibble at the end of the day.