A purpose

We went for a walk yesterday. Griffin carried a stick. Humans go for walks to “clear our minds” or “get in touch with nature.”  Dogs already have clear minds. For them, the freedom of a walking trail without security of a leash or the familiarity of a daily walking route can, it seems, be confusing.  “What am I here for?”  “Where are we going?”  “What’s our goal?”  Griffin (see photo above) promptly found himself purpose in the form of a big stick to carry.  “Now I feel so much better,” he seemed to say. Clay Christensen writes and speaks about this,  and as we ambled through the Albany Pine Bush yesterday, I realized that Griffin explicitly understood that having clarity of purpose was far better than the freedom (and ambiguity) that the vastness of opportunity offered.  The task was now clear: find a big stick and safely deliver it back to the car.  In choosing this task, he became focused, engaged and (dare I anthropomorphize?) proud.  He looked up at us as if to say “see what I have? Do you approve?  Is it big enough?”  Rather than randomly running through the woods, criss-crossing the path, distracted by new scents, distant chipmunks and blowing leaves, he maintained a steady trot with head and tail held high, and a steady gaze straight ahead, maintaining his placement squarely and very intentionally in the middle of the path. And just as Griffin seems to seek the fre...
Source: Docnotes - Category: Primary Care Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs