On December twenty second of this recently past year a Greenwich, CT bound train left Grand Central Station in New York City at approximately 6 pm. On this train was a little French Bulldog that goes by the name "Lola". She came to my house to be looked after while her owner was away, my duty in a nutshell and in Sofia's words, " just make sure she doesn't die". I could do that.
Lola is a mix between gremlin and Barbie, she came with instructions (gremlin) and a bag full of gadgets and clothes containing everything from coats and booties to a purple heart that dispenses her poop bags. (Barbie). As I read the instruction manual I realized that Lola's life, with the West Village as scenario, is summed up in a couple of pages: a paragraph on eating, a paragraph on sleeping, a paragraph on her walking schedule, another page with emergency contacts. Structured, predictable, simple.That is Lola's life. She walks, eats, snoozes.Then she goes back in the crate in the corner of her NYC studio apartment. Repeat.
Now, French Bulldogs are more known for their mellow, smoochy, warm and loving personalities than for their brains, which is why I was surprised to see Lola deciding to milk her days in suburbia the minute her mother left. It's like instantly she knew there was more out here, she broke her cycle and she took great joy in exploring, in looking for first time experiences to revel in, instead of shying away from them. Lola discovered car rides, endless grass, friends, ponds, rocks, and fire; she worked at a retail store for a day (proving to be a great sales strategy) and got smuggled into a hospital disguised as a baby. Her biggest discovery of all though, was a great love of chasing leaves in the wind. I am not sure why she loves this futile enterprise so, but while walking her one day she went from her little mini sashaying to greyhound speed tugging at the leash, making it hard for me to keep up. It was funny to watch her, so intent, so focused, going after it with all the energy and agility a small, stumpy dog can muster... all for nothing as the leaves carried by the wind were always faster than she was. As a reasonable homo sapiens I was well aware of her shortcomings and felt a little bad for her, but she wasn't and she didn't. She was relentless in her seemingly empty pursuit, going after one, then another, enthralled. How nice, I thought, to not focus on the shortcomings, to go after what one wants independently of if we get it or not, how liberating to chase just to feel the happiness derived from the pursuit. Even if it is a silly pursuit, even if we look funny chasing after it. Turns out Lolalosophy can be applied to homo sapiens after all. If this terribly cute but stumpy dog can chase leaves in the wind with such zest, if such happiness can be derived by chasing, focusing, wanting and doing something about it regardless of the results, so can we. So in this new year, I pledge to chase, to get after it and to enjoy the ride. In this 2012 lets take another shot at getting it right, we have 365 days to go big or go home. Or to the crate, in her case.
Best wishes to you all. Get after it!!!!
