Labrador or Chiweannie: You Decide

Cooper Douglas Mowdy in his Christmas photo

Of late I realized that we have become a Chihuahua world. Or I guess I could only safely say a "Chiweannie" world. I have never actually possessed a chihuahua but I do have a Chiweannie named Cooper and those in the know tell me that other that short legs and a long snout he is all "chi" and very little "weannie." Anyway, he is very needy, demanding and self-centered. I am not qualified to diagnose but I am sure that someone with credentials would even say he is narcissistic. He will nudge you until you sit the way he wants so he can use you as a combination heater/pillow. He has trained us to put his blanket just so on the end of the bed so he can burrow down in it. If not he complains. I am sure you get the picture. Our world is Cooper's world. We meet him where he is!

We are a Chiweannie world because as a society we are this way, too. Oh, we use different techniques but many of us have become of the Chi breed as humans. We want the world to conform to what and how we believe regardless of what others may want or believe. Particularly on social media I see people telling others what to believe (if you don't you are wrong). On television if you wear the wrong thing there are "fashion police" that will report on you. There are even lists for that. We now have prescribed way to speak and act with no room for opinion or style. Just like Cooper we think we are speaking for everyone. But really we are just generating a pseudo-back up for our own opinion or desires. 

I saw a recent blog about a woman with an infant child that took baggies with an explanation and goodies to pave the way for the potentiality of a rough ride. Cool idea, I thought. Shortly after that I saw someone say it wrong of her to do that. She was setting the bar too hight for other parents in the same boat and we should have to explain or coddle others for our child. Truthfully, both are right but isn't there somewhere in the middle where we can agree that we have different opinions and choose to ignore the ones we disagree with rather than ask everyone to conform to our thoughts. 

Belle and Max with offerings in tow!

Cooper is entitled to try to get on my lap just so or even try to eat my bacon in the morning but that doesn't mean I have to agree. And I don't. I just ignore his plea. I prefer that approach of my lab, Max and my Lab/Sharpei Belle (Apparently there isn't a cool name for that new breed.) Max would give ANYTHING to sit on my lap; all 85 pounds of him. He has tried. Belle would give up a few wrinkles to have my bacon. They ask (aka beg) but that is it. They take "no" for an answer. In fact unlike Cooper, who expects you to come to him and to be held as you come in the door, Max and Belle approach us differently. They meet us halfway. They even meet us halfway, most often with a gift offering. It is almost their way of extending a hand. They are always quite thrilled to come to us bringing peace, friendship, even love.What would it look like that instead of us expecting everyone to meet us where we are, we venture out, with hand extended and meet others halfway?  We don't have to end up walking their path but we can at least come together in the middle in friendship and respect.

It should be a Labrador world. Just sayin'.