Sunday, January 31, 2016

On picking your battles

"You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks."
Winston Churchill
The first thing that hits me as I absorb these rather timeless words is not all barking dogs merit stones in return. Some, like Frasier the Wonderdog, simply want to say hello, and tragically happen to sound endlessly vicious in the process. Look beyond the big, scary bark and you may be pleasantly surprised at the sweetness behind it.

Second, Churchill nails the there-are-only-so-many-hours-in-the-day thing. The world makes endless demands on us, and doing the polite thing and responding to them all is a recipe for burnout. Do what you can, as well as you can, and leave the rest behind. Over time, it becomes plainly apparent which dogs deserve a cuddle in return, and which ones can be left baying endlessly by the side of the road.

Your turn: If you could understand a dog's bark, what would he/she be saying?

2 comments:

Kalei's Best Friend said...

If I could understand a dog's bark, I believe most dogs are trying to tell whoever comes their way, "take it easy" title song from the Eagles... the song sums it up on how we all should handle life.

Tabor said...

I think most dogs are saying "I am here and take notice at how significant I am in the universe."