Day 717

In my attempts to become more dog-like in nature, today, I studied my Goldens' relaxation techniques. They have a pattern:

*Lie down

*Stretch

*Smell the breeze

*Check for incoming predators

*Find the perfect position

*Close their eyes

*Snore lightly

*Relaxation achieved

After observing them for some time, I came to a conclusion: Goldens relax from within while humans tend to relax from without. Once the pups decided to relax, their ability to do so seemed to come from an inner peace. To my eyes, it seemed rather effortless!

Humans tend to rely on techniques that focus on outward cues. We listen to music, knit/crochet, do yoga or try anything else to achieve relaxation. Those are all wonderful options, but not very doglike by nature.

Reaching for my doggy zen, I followed their example. Making myself comfortable, sniffing the air, scanning for predators and closing my eyes should have worked like a charm. However, relaxation was not achieved. Instead, I could smell nothing and predators were seemingly everywhere! On top of my inability to relax, my Goldens caught wind of a dog Walker and any calm I was approaching suddenly shattered as I needed to corral four big dogs who went from "zen" to wolf in 2.4 seconds!

Oh well, now that I understand my Goldens' tranquility was only a facade of relaxation, I feel less inferior to achieve calm perfection. I will try to relax from the inside out, but it will be a work in progress!