What a Barking Dog Can Teach us About Living in the Now

The other night I got to my apartment late and could hear a dog barking once I stepped out of my car. My only thought at the time was, “That dog’s not too happy.” Then I didn’t really think much more about it. It turns out the dog was a perfect lesson in disguise.

That night, I was visiting other blogs reading about how we have no problems right now. This idea perhaps most famously comes from The Power of Now. I have held this belief as my own for some time now; whenever I have a “problem” I take a step back to remind myself that I am dwelling in the past (or future, depending on the situation) and that if I stay in the present moment I really don’t have a problem.

If you are new to this concept, think of it this way: right now, at this very moment, you have zero problems. Maybe your best friend sent you a mean text message, but that happened in the past. Maybe you have bills you have to pay next week, but that’s something in the future, something that doesn’t even exist yet. I have easily accepted this idea, except for the question that has been in the back of my mind, “What if something really is happening right now that is a problem?”

Sorry to be morbid, but what if I have a gun against my head or my family is being threatened physically? This is where the barking dog provides the answer (you thought I forgot about the dog, didn’t you). While I was reading the air conditioning turned off and I discovered that the dog had one impressive set of lungs. She was rather loud and for whatever reason felt the need to bark every 2-3 seconds. I wasn’t particularly annoyed (“The only problems I have are the ones I create,” I told myself), but I realized that the dog was there to help me answer my question.

The first part is a little more “obvious.” When the dog barks, I hear it, and have the option of getting annoyed or forgetting about it. The only way I can get annoyed, though, is by staying in the past, remembering the bark. If I stay in the present, the dog bark has no effect. Ok, but what about the fact that the dog keeps barking? This is the part I considered more of a revelation (for me). Even if the dog is barking right this instant, I should not find it to be irritating. Letting a single dog bark upset me would be a bit over the top, no? The only other way to get annoyed, then, is to anticipate more barking. This requires looking to the future! If I stay truly rooted in the now, each dog bark is simply a part of life to be experienced. And when the dog is in between barks, my only source of irritation would logically have to be from remembering the past and/or projecting it to the future.

So, in all honesty, it’s practically impossible to have a problem. When applied to the case of having a gun against my head, this may seem a bit naive, but I don’t see it that way. When situations arise that aren’t to our liking, it is our own choice whether we see them as a problem. And, if faced with a situation that is life threatening, a person deeply rooted in the now would react calmly and precisely. What happens happens, and what could happen is simply a projection of the mind.

Do you agree? Take some time to practice letting go of the past and avoiding predicting the future. See if this doesn’t eliminate most of your problems. If you start to get upset over something, ask yourself, “Am I staying in the present moment? Am I creating a problem for myself?” Let me know how it goes.