A different perspective

Arthur doesn’t stare off into the horizon. I was walking along the beach with him this morning, happy that there was no one else around and I could thus let him off leash, and I noticed our different perspectives. As we made our way along the coast, I would stop and take in the long views beaches allow. I would stare off to sea, or gaze at the shoreline. Arthur does neither.

Instead, Arthur concerned with the immediate. He goes from lumps of seaweed to bits of driftwood to rocks, always with his nose to the ground. He doesn’t care about deep thoughts of the future or regrets of the past. He just wants to know what’s here now, and who’s been here recently. I variously think he’s a fool for not being able to think further out, or that he’s got deep Buddhist insight for not being concerned with things over which he has little control.

I often wonder what he makes of it all. He’s a former street dog in Ottawa, and the vast majority of dogs like him happily live their lives having never travelled very far from where they were born. Does he think it’s crazy when he walks along the ocean, or smells a cactus or hears strange birds? Does he know how far he’s come?

It was raining this morning, so instead of going for a ride, I figured I would give his rear leg, on which he’s been occasionally limping, some more rest and we would go for a hike instead. There’s a redwood forest just north of town, and while parking was $10, it was worth it for the view.

But, just like the beach this morning, Arthur had little interest in taking in this amazing view. He didn’t once look up and marvel at the gigantic trees. He didn’t stop and ponder their huge circumference or incredible bark. Again, he poked about, going from clump of ferns to fallen log, sniffing about but never stopping for long at any one spot.

I took pictures, stared upward, and tried to guess how big around some of those trees were. I wonder what he thinks I’m doing. I kinda hope he thinks I've got deep Buddhist insight. It would be an unequal relationship if he didn't.

wes