If I believed in reincarnation (and let me make it clear: I don't; I believe the Biblical statement "It is appointed unto man ONCE to die"... but I digress)...
...IF I believed in reincarnation, I would want to come back as my dog, Coco.
Now, Coco is a 6-yr-old Rotty mix. VERY mixed. I've had her since she was 6 weeks old. She's had me from 'Woof'. And we've been together long enough now for me to be slightly - but only slightly - envious of her.
First of all, Coco is a very happy person. Uhm... Dog. Sure, when she wakes up she's a little slow, but give her 30 seconds and WHAM! She's Happy Dog. Every day. If it's sunny or overcast, if she got less than her usual ration of food the night before - doesn't matter. That dog's got deep Inner Joy.
Me now? I have deep Inner Melancholy. I wake up with a sinking feeling in my stomach and spend minutes mentally fast-forwarding through my day, until I find a reason to be morose. And if I don't find it for that day, I mentally go through the whole week.
I want to be Coco.
The other thing about my doggie: she is very secure. Almost every morning when I open my door, she bounds inside to where I'm sitting and looks at me happily and intently. And if I don't pat her head right away, does she slink away feeling rejected? Nope. She KNOWS I love her, so she rests her head in my lap and waits patiently.
Very secure, very strong sense of self.
Me? Ignore me for 30 seconds and all my rejection issues are triggered and I begin to mope and sulk.
There are other traits of uprightness I admire in my dog:
- Keeping it simple. Coco ain't complex: she eats the same thing every day and is enthusiastic about it almost every time.
- Neighborly. Coco has made friends with several of the neighbours who regularly walk past my house. The fact that I acquired her to be a vicious guard dog has apparently eluded her. Or maybe it's that darn sense of self - she's secure in who she is, so she's not hampered by my ambitions for her.
- Straightforward. Coco doesn't DO hidden agendas (agendae? agendix?) There's no guile in this dog. She either likes you or she doesn't. She's hungry or she's not. And if she doesn't want to respond when you call her, she simply doesn't.
