Attitude & Authenticity (#atozchallenge)

Did you know that dogs can't lie? Well, they can't. I'm sure they'd like to. When you come home to a living room covered in feathers from the new sofa's cushions, I'm sure they'd love to be able to look at you in the eye and give the performance of a lifetime.

Thank you, Claudia Sanches, for the photos!

But they can't. Because their communication--oh yeah, they do "talk"--is based on body language. Dogs are the original heart-on-their-sleeve characters. Even if they don't wear sleeves.

Nope, they can't lie to you. But you can't lie to them, either. They read you like a Vegas billboard lighting up the sky. No vet, you say? Uh-huh, well, I'll just stay here under the bed if it's all the same to you.

This isn't some kind of psychic canine ability, either. All animals communicate this way. Including humans.

As wonderful as speech and words are, they're also a hindrance. Words can't substitute attitude--and I can't understand why we keep trying to do exactly that.

You don't have to tell a dog to walk the talk. The dog's walk is the dog's talk.

Thank you, Claudia Sanches, for the photos!

A dog's attitude tells you everything you need to know about him/her. Self-assured or insecure. Confident or scared. Hungry or satisfied. Sad or happy. Interested or bored. Apprehensive or curious.

How much simpler would our lives be if we did a bit more of that, too? How much more fulfilling, more authentic?

The lesson here is twofold. First: practice reading body language--your own, and others'. Wean yourself from the dependence on words, on what s/he said. Language is only 7% of a person's meaning.

Second: don't talk what you can't walk. Or, like Hemingway said, "Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk."