Whatever your religious beliefs, pretend you?re wrong. And who knows? ?Maybe these actions will give you more cat toys to be thankful for next year. Embrace everyone, in the way they can accept. He can watch everything going on outside, while poised to jump if any food should drop. After chatting with some of their relatives, I realized the dog was missing. And see how many of them you can count. He is also the creator and writer for , which helps kids, teens, parents, and others around the world with advice from the point of view of a friendly dog, and is the author of the book, . ?There?s something wrong with Thanksgiving. Instead, they just appreciate. That?s being alive. So last Thanksgiving, I gently took her with me to the home of some neighbors for their family celebration. Feel it till your heart could burst. Their brains aren?t big enough to perceive a rationale for the universe. If you can?t think of any, then admit that you have less brain than any dumb mutt, who has no trouble saying, ?Right now, at this moment, that mushroom gravy I smell from two houses down is the most glorious creation ever!? 5. He was thankful for her and she was thankful for him and I was thankful for both and for their gratitude to each other. For thanks to go all the way around ? everyone beholden to everyone ? and the emotion overwhelming with its simplicity to where you realize that this is really the way the whole world should be, the way all of life should be. It was too goofy, too beautiful. Dogs are neither theist nor atheist, sectarian nor agnostic. The secret to re-legitimizing the day isn?t the food, or even family. So, from their pure integrity, here are some canine keys to a true Thanksgiving: 1. And then all the great people who?ve died, all the pollution, and get a load of what the kids listen to ? it?s just garbage! But if we put aside that all these worst-politicians-ever just lie and cheat, maybe we could remember that most of them, most of the time, are trying to do their best, and often get things right. Your parents, your spouse, your friends, and even your dog. When they?re staring up from the floor, unable to intellectualize their feelings as we do. Sit in your front doorway and look around. 2. Even if you absolutely, 100%, know it?s completely and totally wrong, pretend for just a wee moment that things are actually better today than they were a year ago. ?And again, I learned it from a dog. And when you free your brain from the ?why,? let it all roll over you: The enormity of outer space, the miracle of an ant, the luck of our proximity to the sun, the breathtaking complexity of your own body. ? This couple had lost their own dog a couple of years before, and had embraced mine with an openness like grandparents. 661 SHARES Related Items: Recommended for you Click to comment Leave a Reply Your email address will not be published. ?A clever pooch knows this is the best place to relax. Embrace that chic friend with a peck-almost-on-the-cheek, that child with a warm hug, and your significant other with the passion you?ve stifled since Labor Day.661 SHARES by Douglas Green? The word is out. True gratitude should glow, not just in feeling thanks, but in expressing it, as dogs do every waking moment. ? This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. It?s the name. . He carved slowly, methodically, putting one slice onto a platter for the family, handing the next slice to her, the next slice to the family, the next slice to her?spoiling the being I loved most just rotten. Own your social intelligence, like an obedience-school graduate, and treat people as you believe they would wish. We laugh at the enthusiasm pups show over the simplest things ? their human, a treat or leash. Now that doesn?t mean jumping onto the white dresses of frightened strangers. Scary? Then take it further; focus on your love for them. If you can?t, you?re not looking hard enough. I checked room after room, until finally looking across at the open doorway to the kitchen. 4. Required fields are marked * Comment * Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Have we ever been told as often that our world, our leaders, our lives are horrible? News channels screaming, rants on Facebook, forcing us to focus on lousiness. Don?t get me wrong, I like all of these traditions, I just don?t know what they have to do with gratitude, or with immigrants thanking locals for helping them survive. Now these canine behaviors create their own rewards, but there?s a higher goal here, too. And are you happy about anyone who was born this last year? And how many new inventions reduce pollution? And have you noticed that all the music you like is still around, and maybe you?ve actually enjoyed one new song? So then, things are better, right? Okay, maybe that argument doesn?t hold, but just give a moment to thanking the few things that you can agree have improved. As with so many other holidays, we have ruined its original concept with enforced ?traditions:? Macy?s parade, turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie, televised football. Then realize that?s the truth. Greet that work colleague with a warm handshake and smile. Take a moment to ask what your life would be like with any of them not there, or not caring about you. 3. That should be our goal for the day. Dogs lack dogma. What if you never assumed the one who?d cared for you would come home? What if you harbored doubts about ever tasting another cookie? Then look at your present relationships. And it?s a perfect first stop on the gratitude trail. Pretend that everyone in your life didn?t have to be there, or do what they?ve done for you. But only because we take those sights for granted. That appreciation, that pain, is what dogs feel for us all the time. And just try not to feel grateful. Months of emotion welled up in my eyes. Never unselfish, but habitually giving credit whenever they see it due. And Shirelle adored them, always lunging toward their door on our walks. Douglas Green is a psychotherapist, specializing in helping kids and teens build lives they can be proud of. Do any of us honor the sun like a pup who shifts her sleeping to follow the rays? Do we run out after rains to absorb every enhanced scent? Take a breath, close your eyes, and forget all that you believe about why the world is. There stood ?Grandpa,? carving the turkey, with my big mutt sitting oh-so-politely at attention next to him. What sort of home do you have? Do you rent or own? Does the doorway reveal a Downton Abbey landscape or a parking lot? Whichever, sit on that threshold and find twenty things you appreciate about your shelter and the astounding world outside it. I?d wondered why. Can we return to actually giving thanks? To find a way, I turn to the greatest teachers on gratitude I?ve ever known: dogs. ? My pooch, Shirelle, had a fatal cancer, and was supposed to have died already; I lived in fear every time I left her for even a few hours
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