I Miss My Dog...

Currently over 11,000 miles away and probably sleeping as she so often does, my dog, Jess, is the thing that I miss most in this whole world.

I used to really dislike her as a puppy. She was wild, she was annoying and when we used to play around she'd ruin any garment of clothing she could get her teeth into. But the older she got, the older I got – and we both changed. I was 16 when my dog came into my house as an 8 week old puppy and over the past 12 years it feels like we have both matured together. I was a kid, I wasn't an angry teenager, but I had my grumpy days and for the first time in my life I was starting to think for myself. I began learning to question authority, whether from teachers, police or religion and more than that I began to question society and it's rules. Over the years I have chilled out; I still question authority and if abused I will pull anyone up on it and I still very much like to speak my opinion and I find that my dog has done the exact same thing.

I used to have staring contests with my Jess. I'd stare into her eyes with great intent as she would casually glance into mine before, occasionally, looking around the room out of boredom and I'd always question what was going through her mind. How can you not envy a creature that holds no grudges; that still shows you love if you just hurt it by accident; that always wants to be by your side having some part of their body make contact with some part of your body; and that always remains you best friend even if you're pissed off with the world and everything in it.

I wonder what my dog thinks when she stands outside gazing off into the distance: does she have logical thoughts; can she solve intricate conundrums and arguments; does her superior sense of smell tell her things about this world that we never thought possible; are the physics of the earth, which we struggle to get our heads around, something that is second nature to her; does she have extra senses which answer questions that we have long since pondered about life and that as we know it. It would make sense that only an animal so worldly and so knowledgeable would be so content with sleeping lots and generally walking by the side of your best friend doing nothing all day.

They say simple things please simple minds, but maybe the simple minds are too busy over obsessing with the complex things in life to stand and appreciate the simple things. I maintain that the complex mind understands the complex things in life and understands it's the simple things in life that gives you pleasure, therefore hold the simple things closest to them.

Maybe that's why Jess enjoys going for walks so much; why she rejoices every time we come back into the house, regardless of whether we've been away 5 minutes or 5 hours; maybe it's why she appreciates something as simple as making physical contact with the ones you love; and maybe that's why she doesn't hold grudges if I lock her out of the room, forget that she's outside or step on her tail...because at the end of the day, these are all just trivial issues.

We look down on all other creatures, as if we are the superior ones, but I've had my dog for 12 years now and if you ask me, she's got this life down to a tee. Imagine what we'd discover if only we stopped obsessing about the superficial, petty things in life and just concentrated on the things that matter: the ones we love...our friends and family.

All this came about, simply because, I miss Jess.

Life; or, That as we know it...

  I sometimes find it difficult to live up to expectations that I have for my life at times. Thanks to a cacophony of fictional/non-fictional tales (whether they are from books or movies) I've become a little too used to see people lives unfold in front of me in a very short time. As in depth as the book/movie might be, in comparison to your everyday life they are just one thing: a montage.

  It feels like it's getting dangerous to let myself get caught up in these worlds. You're always scared by the media that the violence and drugs are something you need to look out for and protect yourself from, but no one ever seems to think about this obsession we have with stories. Yes, yes, people are always whining saying TV rots the mind etc. but very rarely do they accept that so do books.

  Story telling is a huge aspect of mankind. Dating thousands of years ago there are cave paintings of our “primitive” ancestors attempting to tell stories. We communicate with each other in such a dextrous and complex manner in this day and age simply because our mind yearned to unleash a creative side tens of thousands of years ago. If we only used communication to say what we needed, then we wouldn't have such a diverse and numerous vocabulary today – but we learned to communicate to say what we wanted. And we wanted entertainment. There was only so much, hunting, humping, eating, sleeping and crafting tools and jewelery we could deal with – our minds craved the thrill of a tale.

  So you see, something as simple as a story is what helped contribute us to be such eloquent speakers with a mind capable of explaining complex and abstract issues with clarity. But back then, stories weren't easy to come by. Like a fire, if it's small and controlled it adds dimensions to our life, but too much of it is certainly dangerous. Today, there is an overwhelming choice of entertainment at our disposal. It's almost as if you have to judge a book by it's cover, because you don't have the time to read the synopses of all these thousands of books out there. I say this is dangerous because our minds aren't supposed to be overwhelmed in such a fashion. Life isn't supposed to go by at 100mph all the time. It's not like a book, “This happens, that happens, consequences, lessons learnt, the end.” We're supposed to take a break from all this. From day one, we are supposed to have days where we're bored out of our minds; we're supposed to sit and think about things, life, friends, family, issues in your life and whatever else is pressing on your mind; you're meant to have days when everything is dull and slow, it gives you time to process your life.

 

  I blame the entertainment industry for my uneasiness. I blame them when on a day off I feel edgy when I haven't done anything. I blame them when I think at 28 I should have experienced more or I should have had more adventures. I blame myself for falling into their trap.

So whatever you're doing think about taking a digital detox. 1 night a week or a fortnight. Don't bother with what you're friends are up to on Facebook; don't pay attention to whoever is crying or having sex on TV; ignore the pretentious author sitting on your bookshelf. Just take in the life you have around you. Go people-watch in town; go stare at the stars at night; go watch the waves lap in at the shore; go exercise and forget everything for a bit; or just go and sit still with your eyes closed in your bedroom.

I'm making my vow to do this from now on: to not get anxious if I don't do anything with my day or my evening; to sort out myself and my life logically and to leave the constant entertainment alone for a while.

There's more to life than living. As paradoxical as that sounds.

Life can be about campfires and marshmallows: A new perspective...

  It's true what they say, if you think that the world is - on the whole - a terrible and dangerous place, then you most definitely read too many newspapers and watch too much news on the TV.
  Sensationalism sells issues, rakes in viewers and betrays our minds on daily basis. What can you say about a world so resplendent; so unequivocally, so unabashedly beautiful when all the mass media want to do is trodden on it with disease-laden, formal-wear shoes.
  I'm not asking you to live in denial, to think that bad things only happen to other people. Of course they don't. Naivety of that standard will only serve to get you into trouble sooner or later. Yes, people are murdered both tactically and in cold blood; friends and family are lost to vicious diseases; famine sweeps and embraces the poorest parts of the world; natural disasters take lives sometimes without any warning; our daily actions are draining the earth of the natural resources it has taken millions upon millions of years to create. Whether these events, these actions, these consequences are within the grasp of our control or not, it is still not enough reason to live in fear.
Do football fans avoid going to matches for fear of being attacked by notourious hooligans; Do surfers avoid the sea for fear of being attacked by sharks; Do people avoid living on fault lines for fear of that one impending earthquake.
Of course they don't because all these events occur in their minorties. They are so miniscule in their occurences that they are not even worth thinking about.
  I urge you to look around, see the beauty of the world and envelope yourself in all the things that are good in this world.
I'm sitting here right now surrounded by half a dozen panoramic windows as I overlook one of the most stunning sights I have ever seen. I have the privilege of living in Queenstown in New Zealand. If you've been here before then you'll know that I'm greeted by the sight of the Remarkables Mountain Range (named as such because they are one of only 3 ranges in the world that run from north to south); the Wakatipu lake sits at the feet of these mountains, rippling delicately as they reflect the ever-dynamic colours of the sky; and rolling hillsides drenched in a coating of - what looks like - millions of Christmas trees. To top it all off, part of the sky looks like the cotton wool section in the chemist, only to be bizarrely contrasted with the other half looking like the sheets of a gunshot victim.
  Without sounding like an over-the-top environmentally friendly hippy or some brainwashed cult member I ask of you to cut down on watching the news and reading your papers. Yes, keep up to date on the goings on with the world, because ignorance isn't bliss, it's dangerous. But take some days to indulge in your world, rather than someone elses that happens to be filled with tragedy at that time. Take some time to enjoy what you have around you, whether it's a concrete jungle or a real life jungle. Our world is amazing and there are so many good things going on around them. Make some impulsive actions once in a while; don't get caught up in your 9-5 all the time; and more what's more important than anything else: enjoy your time with your friends and family. Life can be all about campfires and marshmallows, you just have to change your perspective.

On that note, for food tonight, I'm going to indulge in the local delicacy: Fish and Chips.
Fan-bloody-tastic!