DOG GONE HAPPY!

I'm currently reading "Happiness Now!" by Robert Holden. It's an excellent book which you won't be surprised to hear from the title is all about being happy. The central message of the book so far is that happiness is something within us, not something that we can ever find externally. Being happy therefore involves realising this and just allowing the happiness that is within us to shine through.

With this in mind I took my dog Sox out for a walk yesterday lunchtime. I left home feeling really happy and was determined to stay that way. We had a lovely walk and after an hour or so, instead of heading back home I decided we'd head in the opposite direction and get a coffee at one of the canalside cafes.

I tied her up outside the cafe and went inside to order. Little did I realise that my resolution to be happy was about to be tested. Having ordered a cappuccino, the woman took my money and handed me the change without making any move to make my drink. When I didn't walk away she said - you've already had it haven't you, aren't you just paying? I told her very politely that no, I'd just got here and hadn't had a drink yet. She eyed me slightly suspiciously, even more so when I pointed out that she'd given me change form a fiver when I'd just paid with a ten pound note. I went back outside to sit at one of the tables alongside the towpath with Sox, to wait for my drink and enjoy the peace and quiet. It was a nice day, if a bit overcast and all I could hear was the gentle sound of a barge moving along the water  a few yards away. Less than a minute later, an elderly couple walked towards the cafe from my right. The old lady was full of complaints - telling her husband very grouchily that she was too cold, too tired and that he was holding her arm too tightly and walking too fast. She then turned her attention to us as we sat quietly minding our own business and muttered loudly "what a stupid place to bring a dog."

Now Sox is pretty smart and I'm sure she knew she was being talked about. She looked up at me then turned and growled at the woman (really out of character for her). The woman responded by calling her a "spiteful little bugger" and shuffling off into the cafe. Now once upon a time I'd have reacted to that, either by politely challenging the woman or more probably by keeping quiet but feeling irritated inside. Instead today, with that central core of happiness firmly in place, it just made me want to laugh. Sox picked up on this too as she turned and looked up at me and I swear she grinned. If she were able to I think she might even have high-fived me! As you can see from the picture above, she's a pretty special dog. Hope that story made you smile too. Enjoy the Bank Holiday.