I’ve never been much for New Year’s resolutions. It seems sort of silly to wait until a specific day to make a promise to myself to do something that would be better for me, or might make me a better person. I’m not saying you’re stupid if you make one; if a New Year’s resolution will help you be a better person or make you take better care of yourself, by all means go for it.
Six years ago I think however that I finally found one worth making. It’s really very simple. My resolution for 2020 is just the same as it has been for the last five years, to just be more like my dog.
- I’m always going to be happy to see the people I care about. No, I’m not going to lick them or smell their butt. But, I am going to let them know I’m glad they’re there.
- I’m going to be leery of strangers until someone I trust convinces me they’rere OK. (I probably don’t need to work on that one.)
- I’m going to growl at the stuff I don’t like, in a way that the stuff I don’t like will know, I don’t like it. Maybe then it will go away and stay away.
- I’m not going to really care what’s on TV.
- I’m going to be more interested in lying down wherever I want, whenever I want, just for the purpose of lying down.
- I’m going to be ready to play with the people I care about, even if I just woke up or even if I just laid down. Or, even if they were in a bad mood yesterday or if they have been ignoring me lately.
- I’m going to care less about what my food looks like and more about how it smells.
- I’m going to appreciate a good drink of water more than I used to.
- I might just take off running in no certain direction for no real reason at all. (Actually, I’ll probably walk. It might be a fast walk, but it’ll be a walk.)
- I’m not going to be so worried about getting dirty, stepping in the mud, or how my hair looks.
- I’m going to learn how to use that look to get attention. (I know that’s selfish, but if it works..)
- I’m also going to be less concerned about the animals I chase. Dogs don’t evaluate trophy quality before they take after something, they just need to catch something that does not want to get caught.
- And, I’m also not going to have a lot of toys. Dogs don’t need a lot of toys, just a few good ones. (No, I’m not going to chew on my guns.)
- Most of all, I’m gong to be happy with what I’ve got and run with my pack more often.
There. It’s simple. And, what makes it so easy is that if at anytime, I lose my resoulte way, I can just watch my dog for a bit and get right back on track.
We could all stand to be more like our dogs. After all, they’re man’s best friend for a reason. It might result in more petting and we could all damn sure use more petting.
