Zen And The Art Of Being Max

Can you run holding a frisbee in your mouth, upright so it covers your face and you go smack, right into a wall and want to do it again?

When you’re out and about are you just happy to see everyone and convinced that they are just as happy to see you?

When you saw a horse for the first time were you so overwhelmed you broke into a happy dance?

Would you, as a full grown human, ever feign being in a deep sleep so someone would carry you to your bed?

All those examples are what I would call joie de vive. Okay, pardon my French. I meant joy of living. Max had it in spades. Max was my bulldog.

Animals will teach you stuff. Max was special. He taught me even when things got rough, how I should react. One time, while out walking with Max, he was attacked by a boxer named Mick. Mick was sweet to me, but hated my dogs. After Mick’s owner pulled Mick off of Max, there was Max, wagging his little tail. Basically his tush! How can you not learn from that?

“Love life and it will love you back!” I’ve heard that said and I wonder how the person who said it could have possibly known Max. “If you’re not afraid of the unknown, the unknown will be kind to you.” Now I know Paulo Cohelo has never met Max, who was born here in Israel.

When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary doesn’t come to me. A sweet bulldog with a happy grin does, because I channel him. Not in the seance kind of way, but in the make me smile inside kind of way I feel when I think of him.

Some people think cats are zen masters. They might be right. Except, have you ever heard two cats going at it over dominance and territory? If cats are zen masters, then dogs are masters of joy and unconditional love.

When I channel Max, I’m channeling his idea that anything can be fun. I’m channeling his connection to every living being and his sense of wonder. All of that gets me through the moments when I can’t do it on my own.

My other dog Elvis had a different way of dealing with things. When we first got a cat and the cat jumped up on the couch next to Elvis, he would just turn his head so he could not see the cat! While only a short term remedy, it might work!

It seems almost odd that while we are like the stewards of this world, all of the answers are found in nature.