Few people go through their lives without periods of great angst and emotional pain. Many at this very moment will be in the middle of situations that, perhaps, could be described as hopeless. What on earth does that have to do with resting and playing? Because, however grim life may look like just now, a period of rest or play makes things better.
Dogs (and many other warm-blooded animals) are masters of resting and playing. Now, of course, it would be wrong to see these behavioural traits in the same way that we regard resting and playing but nonetheless they are great examples for us. When dogs used to live their lives in packs, within the pack would be an Omega dog, the joker dog, whose role was to keep the pack ‘happy’.
One of the things that is apparent when travelling on the European Continent is how many countries still preserve Sunday as a day of rest. Sadly not England and, it is suspected, nor America. Maybe having a day of rest from whatever stresses and strains are in a life has much to recommend it.
So to with play. And here’s a wonderful example of a group of humans having incredible fun and producing a remarkable result. What’s the point? Who knows. But you can be sure that not one of the participants came away from that stage feeling worse than when they went in.
By Paul Handover
Learning from Dogs 