Magic and the Invisible Fence

We have a wonderful mountain dog named Magic. He's coming up on two years old. He's well-trained, affectionate and lives like a King on our one acre lot in the Rockies.

When we got him, we did not want to build a fence around our lot due to cost and aesthetics. So, we got an Invisible Fence instead. For those who don't know what that is: you bury a wire all around the perimeter of your yard and then run a current through it. You place a special collar around your dog's neck that gives him a little electric shock if he gets too close to the wire. With a little training, the dog learns where the wire is and not to cross it. Magic, like many dogs, has learned this lesson so well that we don't even need to put the collar on him anymore. In other words, we've conditioned him to accept the limits of our yard.

I thought about all this as I was driving into work today after an extended holiday vacation. I wondered if I had a collar on - if I had learned my limits? Perhaps so well that I didn't need my collar anymore? Do I keep to my lot and think that I am King of all I survey? Never venturing beyond the boundaries I just assume are there? Accepting the boundaries placed on me?

I'm sure that the collar assumes many forms. Conformity, of course. Meeting others expectations. Naturally. Getting ahead. Materialism. Consumerism. Keeping up with the Joneses. Knowing your place. Cultural norms. Customs. Traditions. Body image. Gender identity. Queer. Straight. Sexuality. Power. Control. Fear. The list goes on and on.

What keeps you and me from living as our authentic selves?

What false sense of limitation keeps you on your lot? What boundaries do you accept?

What does your collar look like?


Namaste.

Today I Am Grateful For ... Magic

No, not sleight of hand, my dog, Magic. He loves me unconditionally or if dogs don't "love" it sure looks like love. Sitting there reading last night, he'd sit at my feet and every now and again he'd look up and check on me and then lay back down again. He is strong and beautiful and not even one year old but already he is BIG (80 lbs.). He loves Milk Bones and other treats. He's waiting for me when I drive down the driveway at night, tail wagging. Welcome home, he barks.

It feels great and I'm grateful for this tail wagging, hand licking, bow-wow love.

Just to be clear, Magic is on the floor to the left. That's my son Andrew on the couch to the right...

Love this doggie prayer:

Hail blessed Laika,
bless all us dogs
and make us brave like you.
WOOF!


Namaste.

The Dogma of Magic

I am not by nature a patient man. My computer takes too long to boot, the page takes too long to load, and boiling water is an eternity. Frozen burritos take forever to nuke. If I could will microwaves to wave faster, I would.

I have always been in a hurry. In a hurry to relax. In a hurry to slow down. In a hurry to begin and be done. Life may be a journey and not a destination but I always seem to fall into the trap of believing otherwise.

Enter Magic, our new puppy. When he and I first met, I frantically tried to teach him to pee or poop quickly so that I could get on with whatever other much more important thing I was doing. Despite my best (?) efforts, Magic doesn't much care.

Magic lives on puppy time where there is always enough time and always another thing to smell, dig, chew, chase or lie on. Magic knows he can only smell, dig, chase, chew or lie on one thing at a time. Puppies innately know that multitasking is a sham.

Magic is training me in his First Law of Dogma, which can be summarized as follows:

"You can only pee in one place at a time."

Namaste.

PS: To get your own Happy Buddha dog tag (pictured above) visit Olive Green Dog

Quiet Day

Its a quiet day up here at Mountain House.

All eyes are focused on our very first dog in the family - Magic. He is wonderful! Bounding about and sniffing everything.

We've been cleaning the garage, planning on Jamaican Tacos for dinner, and getting ready to go for a run in Elk Meadow. The sun is warm, and the hummingbirds and finches are back. There is still snow hiding in the shade of greening trees but that will be gone in a day or two.

My sister Vicky is doing much better. Off dialysis and the ventilator. Living in a rehab facility to learn to walk and all kinds of other motor skills.

The best blessings of this life truly are the small ones.

Namaste.