Dogs are animals of integrity. We have much to learn from them.
Tag: Reflections
It’s impossible not to admire, respect and love a dog
An incident last night reminded me of the complexity of the dog’s mind. It has not been the first time this has happened.
Our 6 year-old German Shepherd dog, Pharaoh, was given a bone as a treat during the previous day and, as sometimes happens, it was a bit tough on his stomach. So at around 1.30 am, I was woken up. Nothing so special about that. But reflect on how this happened.
Bob Derham has been a close friend of mine for too many years. We first met in Cyprus when it was my Winter base for cruising the Med. and have kept in touch ever since. He will be embarrassed by me describing him as one of life’s gentlemen. It’s great to have Bob’s occasional Post but when you read this, his first, you will get an excellent idea of how this person views the world. By the way, here is a picture of Bob’s office! (And more details for aviation buffs!) PH.
A chance to pause awhile and reflect.
We are lucky enough to live in a special part of England in the county of Hampshire, in a part called the New Forest which used to be the hunting ground of William the Conqueror. Our village is called Woodgreen, and as part of the forest, Cows, Ponies, and Pigs are free to roam, kept within the forest confines by cattle grids. Our house is one of several which are thatched and surround the common, in the middle of which is a cricket pitch.
“Be master of mind rather than mastered by mind.”
This is one of, literally, hundreds of Zen quotes. Of course Zen Buddhism does not have the exclusivity of quotes that stir the heart. Every one of man’s great religions and followings is embroidered with beautiful quotations. Here’s one, more or less at random, from Christianity.
‘Faith is to believe what we do not see;
and the reward of this faith
is to see what we believe.’
Whatever gives you solace, it is important to have something that allows you to be a little retrospective from time to time (and we are not talking alcohol or drugs here!). Remember, you can’t give away what you don’t own!
So when this Blog, ZenHabits, caught my eye, it seemed worthy of mention and of adding to the Blog Roll. We will see if this resonates with you, the reader. Either way, do let me know via your comments.
By Paul Handover
Krakatoa. Is it heading for another deadly eruption? Probably not!
Like many Bloggers, sources of inspiration come from other Blogs and, no less, than this one and Sunday post 2.
So a ‘thank you’ to Naked Capitalism for providing the links to two British newspaper articles both of which seem to have very little to do with capitalism. But it is Sunday, after all!
Most of this Post is from a recent press release by ESO.
The strangeness of outer space is almost beyond comprehension. Read more of this Post
A love song
Pharaoh
I am your dog and have something I would love to whisper in your ear. I know that you humans lead very busy lives. Some have to work, some have children to raise, some have to do this alone. It always seems like you are running here and there, often too fast, never noticing the truly grand things in life.
For many years being a subscriber to The Economist newspaper has been a weekly pleasure. Strangely, it might be thought, one of the most appreciated sections of this newspaper is the weekly obituary. Frequently giving an insight into a well-known person but, not uncommonly, a beautifully written piece about a person not in the public arena.
Just so in the publication dated July 18th, 2009 (my copy always takes a couple of weeks to arrive).
It is about a climber, John Bachar, who loves climbing without any aids whatsoever. Apparently known as free-solo climbing, not free-climbing, as described in The Economist.
Unless you are a print or online subscriber you will not be able to appreciate the wonderful prose used to describe John’s life. If you are a subscriber the article is here.
For those that want some more background and do not have access to The Economist there is an obituary in the LA Times including a breath-taking picture.
What I can do (hopefully without treading on any copyright toes) is to quote just one of the comments that was attached to the online version of the article.
I was so enthralled reading this beautifully written piece that I suddenly felt living through one of John Bachar’s many climbs. This is a lively description of an intrepid life lived in full harmony with and in respect of rocky mountains to the very end. Understanding the risks this man single-mindedly stuck to his values on rock-climbing, dangling with death but not with his body whilst working his way up until one rock-face decided to claim the better of him to remain unconquered this one time.
An obituary that pays due homage to a specialist nature lover in the art of blending with the rock graciously.
Integrity appears in many forms.
By Paul Handover
May you live in interesting times is reputed to be the English translation of an ancient Chinese proverb, the first of three of increasing ‘cursedness’, the other two being:
Anyway, a quick Google search will reveal many references to the saying, and others, if one is so minded.
Read more of this Post
Well, it’s been exactly a week since Learning for Dogs was promoted to a couple of Forums and a couple of hundred email contacts.
Just wanted to say ‘thanks’.
Thanks, first of all, to the good guys and gals at WordPress. They provide a really impressive product and lots of great support.
Thanks to Google for some really smart search optimisation tools.
Thanks to all the friends and colleagues who have given me feedback.
And, finally, thanks to all of you who have looked in at the Blog and especially those who have chosen to subscribe. As new Blogs go, it looks like this is getting off to a great start.
Going to take a break for a few days but, automagically, Posts will be published each day.
By Paul Handover
At exactly 20:17 UTC/GMT today on July 20th 1969 mankind started a journey to outer space when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the Moon.
That time translates to:
NASA’s 40th Anniversary Web Site has all the details including the link to a replay of ‘real time’ audio of the event.
By Paul Handover
Learning from Dogs 