Thursday, April 28, 2005
hey, wat r u running from?
i'm dying to share an article that i read - for those who are always in a hurry, take some time to read this. i really hope it touches u, the way it moved me.
From: Dogs Don't Bite when a Growl Will Do
by: Matt Weinstein and Luke Barber
Dogs Know There is a Time for Sitting and Staying
The first 2 things that i always teach my dogs are 'sit' and 'stay'. I can usually accomplish this bit of training in the very first 15-min training session with a puppy. With a little patience and 8 ounces of cheese, even the slowest canine students are able to sit and hold a stay by the end of the 2nd session.
What dogs can learn in a very brief time some people can't seem to learn in a whole lifetime - that sitting and staying is an important part of life. It seems, instead, that our lifestyles are all about busyness. We rush from place to place, always at double-time, never able to slow down and just stay put. i'm in a 'Hurry, hurry, hurry,' is our anthem, but we don't have time to stop and sing it.
'what are we running from?' and 'What are we running to?' are important questions we rarely stop to ask. When we do ask them, we rarely sit still long enough to hear the answer from our deep, inner self. We only have time for the superficial, shallow answer, 'It's because I have so much to do.' Then, we are off and running again.
Blue's vet, Dr Jim Ahumada, has a sign in his treatment room that reads, SIT! STAY! THE DOCTOR WILL BE RIGHT WITH YOU. When i commented one day about the sign, he said, 'Oh, the dogs don't need it. They have lots of patience. It's only the people. They are always in such a big rush. They are the ones who need to be reminded to slow down.'
What exactly is the big rush? The Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh, often says to his students, 'Our final earthly destination is the cemetery. Why is everyone in such a hurry to get there?'
We all need time in our daily lives to allow our minds to sit still. This profound truth is a lesson that has been taught by the great spiritual teachers throughout history.
Just like with our dogs, sittng and staying is a habit that must be acquired. We have to train ourselves - first with short periods of quiet and calm and then later with longer ones - to let go of all the busyness and running around. We don't have to spend 40 days in the wilderness to realize the benefits of solitude.
If we can learn to take just 15 min a day for sitting and staying, then within just a couple of weeks we will already begin to see the benefits in our lives. We will be less anxious, more centered, and less likely to be upset by the inevitable difficulties that life puts in our path. Just 15 min a day to stop doing, stop thinking and stop planning may be all we need. When we can give ourselves these 15min a day to do nothing more than relax totally and enjoy our breathing, we will discover why this whole sitting and staying thing is not just something we should be teaching our dogs - it is something we should be teaching ourselves.
* to those who wonder what the heck am i doing - quitting a well-paid job and doesn't seem too concern where my life is going - well, i figured that 15min a day is not enough for me to enjoy my breathing. i need a year!! but dun be too happy yet, i have no intention to be back in s'pore for good. for that, i dun have plans yet..... and i'm glad my mom is finall cool about it!!!
From: Dogs Don't Bite when a Growl Will Do
by: Matt Weinstein and Luke Barber
Dogs Know There is a Time for Sitting and Staying
The first 2 things that i always teach my dogs are 'sit' and 'stay'. I can usually accomplish this bit of training in the very first 15-min training session with a puppy. With a little patience and 8 ounces of cheese, even the slowest canine students are able to sit and hold a stay by the end of the 2nd session.
What dogs can learn in a very brief time some people can't seem to learn in a whole lifetime - that sitting and staying is an important part of life. It seems, instead, that our lifestyles are all about busyness. We rush from place to place, always at double-time, never able to slow down and just stay put. i'm in a 'Hurry, hurry, hurry,' is our anthem, but we don't have time to stop and sing it.
'what are we running from?' and 'What are we running to?' are important questions we rarely stop to ask. When we do ask them, we rarely sit still long enough to hear the answer from our deep, inner self. We only have time for the superficial, shallow answer, 'It's because I have so much to do.' Then, we are off and running again.
Blue's vet, Dr Jim Ahumada, has a sign in his treatment room that reads, SIT! STAY! THE DOCTOR WILL BE RIGHT WITH YOU. When i commented one day about the sign, he said, 'Oh, the dogs don't need it. They have lots of patience. It's only the people. They are always in such a big rush. They are the ones who need to be reminded to slow down.'
What exactly is the big rush? The Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh, often says to his students, 'Our final earthly destination is the cemetery. Why is everyone in such a hurry to get there?'
We all need time in our daily lives to allow our minds to sit still. This profound truth is a lesson that has been taught by the great spiritual teachers throughout history.
Just like with our dogs, sittng and staying is a habit that must be acquired. We have to train ourselves - first with short periods of quiet and calm and then later with longer ones - to let go of all the busyness and running around. We don't have to spend 40 days in the wilderness to realize the benefits of solitude.
If we can learn to take just 15 min a day for sitting and staying, then within just a couple of weeks we will already begin to see the benefits in our lives. We will be less anxious, more centered, and less likely to be upset by the inevitable difficulties that life puts in our path. Just 15 min a day to stop doing, stop thinking and stop planning may be all we need. When we can give ourselves these 15min a day to do nothing more than relax totally and enjoy our breathing, we will discover why this whole sitting and staying thing is not just something we should be teaching our dogs - it is something we should be teaching ourselves.
* to those who wonder what the heck am i doing - quitting a well-paid job and doesn't seem too concern where my life is going - well, i figured that 15min a day is not enough for me to enjoy my breathing. i need a year!! but dun be too happy yet, i have no intention to be back in s'pore for good. for that, i dun have plans yet..... and i'm glad my mom is finall cool about it!!!
# posted by nic @ 12:32 AM 
