The Little Bear Dog Blog

Nap time: Little Bear and Annie

There’s an old saying that the key to happiness is not getting what you want, but wanting what you get. I’d be really happy getting a new Volvo V50 and size 8 hips please, but I’m not sure that’s what the quotes’ originator really meant.

In true zen-like fashion it’s about appreciating what we already have and let’s be honest, how many of us take time to do that? We focus on what we don’t have, what we still need (or want) and we buy into the idea that our lives would be perfect if only….[complete as necessary]

The good news is that we have something to blame other than ourselves. We can blame advertising for at least part of it for creating a culture driven by a collective sense of lack. After all, how would anyone sell anything if we all believed we already had everything we needed to be happy?

But we’re bright people, and advertising can’t take the rap for it all. I’m as guilty as the next person by the way.  Put me in a pet shop and I’ll be scouring the training section looking for equipment that might help me in my quest for ‘perfect, non-reactive dogs.’  I rarely buy anything, but the idea that I can buy a ‘fix’ for the problem is deeply ingrained. So despite knowing that the solution rests in time, love, persistence and consistency, I still look – just in case.

Little Bear and Annie, despite my best efforts, may never learn to be entirely happy around unfamiliar dogs. I may well spend the next decade taking a few steps forward and then a few more back, but I hope they understand that whatever happens, I’ll love them and appreciate them for who they are right now. After all, that’s the secret to happiness.