The Pyrenees---Southern France

The Pyrenees---Southern France

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

WWADD

           What would a dog do? 

        If we lived our lives like a dog lives their life, the world would be a better place. We'd be happy with the same food every day. We'd wag our tail a lot. We'd be happy even if our walk was occasionally cut short and wouldn't whine about it.  We'd sniff each other's butts and...Okay, perhaps that is one canine habit we don't have to adopt.

Foley---not the brightest bulb...I think he's looking up at the sun,
thinking, 'Hey!  That's a really huge ball. I wonder when they'll throw it for me?'

         On Sunday we had a family get-together at my mother-in-law's; since she lives just a couple of blocks from us, at some point, my husband got Foley and brought him down.

      My granddaughter, who's five, loved the idea of being in charge of someone/something else. After all, she's told all day what to do and how to do it and when to do it. So she was enthralled with being able to walk Foley around on his leash.

     Unfortunately, Foley was not thrilled. He was in a fenced-in yard. 'What's with the leash?' he wondered. He wanted to play ball. Being led around by a little kid was stupid, from his perspective.

      But he tolerated it. And made the best of the situation. As Riley walked him around, he got to smell a few good smells. There were breaks where she'd drop the leash and he'd get to chase the ball for a while.

       As writers, as teachers, as humans doing their best to keep their head above the water--here's my lame analogy, Hope--we try to make a bad situation work for us. If we get a piece rejected, we revise it so we can submit it to a different publication. If we face writer's block head on, we put the piece away for a while and let it marinade. If we get a story shot down, we tweak it, we revamp it, and send it out again.

       Be like Foley. Turn a negative situation inside out...Put a positive spin on it. And don't stop trying...

8 comments:

  1. Hi Sioux,
    If I were a dog I'd be wagging my tail at this post!
    donna

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  2. Foley is a beautiful boy! And your analogy is apt. Dogs adapt and so should we, repeating our mantra: never give up! My two hairy knuckleheads are prime examples of that at treat time. Even if I forget, they're persistent until I catch up. :)

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  3. Well...there are only certain people I would let put a leash on me, especially at a Memorial Day picnic! I have standards yanno...

    Foley doesn't need to be smart. He's gorgeous!

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  4. Took your advice today! Sent out a few of those old stories that have been hanging around way too long. :)

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  5. Yep, the dogs know, one sniff and they can tell. So we walk on aleash a while, and then we run free. Good analogy. You and Hope in cahoots :)

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  6. I love this analogy. Dogs do make the best of everything. Then they act thrilled all over again at their amazing luck.

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  7. I use the negatives for blog material. I whine, I rant, I turn the event inside out, perhaps toss in a touch of hyperbole, and use my poison fingertips to vent my stress. To make myself laugh over the absurdity of letting a situation affect me so much.

    I have a black German Shepherd/lab mix who whines when she's stressed. She whines when we leave for work in the morning, or when her companion beagle runs off after a bunny, or when thunder rumbles, or when somebody comes up the driveway. That's how she deals. How she gets over the situation. She also whines when she greets us, and when she frolics with the beagle.

    Likewise, I tap out a happy post when something pleases me. I'm a regular typing dog, I am. We have both found ways to deal with what life hands us.

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