Schnoodle life lessons..

I’ve been dog-sitting this week, for two very adorable but insane schnoodles (here they are, making themselves quite comfortable on my bed..).

And after the first couple of days of them driving me nuts when we went out, and noticing my own irritated reaction, today as we were walking, I suddenly had a realisation that made me laugh.

Daphne is the younger of the two, and a bit bouncier. And she is EXCITED about life!! Her brain is too small to realise that she’ll reach the same target without needing to choke herself senseless pulling on the lead. And once she’s sniffed one thing, she’ll veer off in another direction to some other alluring distraction, and so on. She’s like a pin-ball, constantly bouncing back and forth, pinging here, there and everywhere with excitement, and yanking your arm out of the socket in the meantime.

And then there’s her half brother, Rupert, who’s now in his doggy dotage. He’s always been a bit soppier and more sensitive but he’s even more ‘special’ now. And he will taaaaake his tiiiime, stopping to sniff every. square. millimetre. of EVERY tuft of grass, at EVERY fence post, with a degree of thoroughness deserving of a crime scene investigator. Don’t rush me, human, this here spot needs a good 10 minutes more in-depth analysis!

So, what made me laugh? Well, just out of the blue it clicked. What a brilliant representation of the MIND! On the one hand, zigzagging in every direction, attracted by shiny, alluring distractions. Never able to be still or stay steady. Pulled every which way, constantly moving, always on high alert, restless. Fight or flight mode engaged!

And on the other, spending hourrrrs, daysss, procrastinating, mulling over, worrying, unable to let go and move forward. Holding on to one thought, one thing that’s preoccupying us, and going over and over it, fixated by the issue. Over-thinking, instead of feeling.

I know I can relate to these two extremes of the mind; I think it’s also possible that the two seeming opposites can even merge. One worry or issue pulls all our focus to the point that we almost obsess over it, and within the obsession is constant distraction, an inability to think or see clearly with perspective as we’re so drawn to all the different aspects of this matter, bouncing from one to the other and never reaching a calm solution.   

If we get caught up and don’t allow ourselves to step back and NOTICE, then this frantic world and all its superficial distractions will never let us rest. Our mind will be on constant high alert, wanting to protect us, believing we could be in danger at any time. We don’t have the threat of huge predators chasing us, as our ancestors might have done, but (and I know this may sound silly but it’s true), with every ping of a phone notification, every new appointment reminder, each new email grabbing our attention, the mind reacts the same way. Our predecessors may have had to run from a tiger just once every now and then; we have our ‘fight or flight’ triggers grabbing our attention CONSTANTLY.  

Which makes it even more essential to find a way that works for you to pause this ‘mind mania’. Maybe it’s knitting, colouring books, listening to music (without doing something else at the same time), walking in the woods, anything that allows you to focus on the moment - so much that everything else stops. 

And this is the magical first step towards awareness of the true calm that lies beneath.

(whether or not there are lunatic dogs pulling you in fifteen different directions..!)