' It's a dog's life' generally is something that you say which means that life is hard and unpleasant. (idioms-the free dictionary online).
If my dog could talk, I doubt that would be his opinion. He gets fed different food according to what he has decided he is no longer fond of- this changes from week to week.
He gets taken in the car frequently and allowed to hang his head out and flap his gums.
He goes for walks in the rain-forest walk near our house, to the beach, out to his favourite sniffing spots ...
He gets continually forgiven for farting whilst on my lap, jumping up, sniffing butts, licking his privates while you are trying to go to sleep (yuck!) chasing the cat, giving the odd unsanitary kiss (really yuck especially when you think about where his mouth has been !!) and eating the cat's poo. OK- that one is NOT easily forgiven. (especially yucky!).
Now what if we were to change the meaning attached? What if, instead of meaning 'a life that is hard and unpleasant, the meaning of these words were taken literally?
If this was so, how could one use the words 'It's a dog's life' to describe a life that is possibly unpleasant?
Taken literally, if your life could be summed up as 'It's a dog's life', then I 'd say you are doing particularly well. For one thing, this would mean that someone else picks up all your shit and would never dream of asking you to do it yourself ...
This behaviour would not attract the meaning of you being lazy, thoughtless, arrogant or rude- instead the meaning would be very little. It would just be what you did and it would be accepted as this is our perception to dog's pooing.
When did you ever see a dog clean up their own shit?
Everything around us is what it is and all meaning attached is merely that due to how we perceive it. Our perception is what determines how we view life, love, success, what is functioning and what is not. Our perception determines everything.
If we could describe our lives as it's a dog's life'- literally, it might look something like this with a shift in perception ...
' It's a dog's life' would mean others would think "your shit don't stink" (our perception of 'when someone is up your butt' or when 'someone is brown nosing' could be altered dramatically-the meaning would be that they were saying hello. The perception would be that the person was friendly.).
You 'd feel free to 'dump a load' onto anyone's space and think nothing of it, carry no guilt or be accused of foul play (dog's have the uncanny knack of pooping on your neighbours front lawn when you've only just left your own yard for walkies). Again-there would be very little meaning attached and therefore our perception of dumping a load on the neighbours front lawn might now be seen as nothing more than a positive healthy bowel movement. Or it could be perceived as you cleansing yourself of impurities and keeping your space clean.
You 'd do all those nasty habits in public and other people would still make a fuss over you and say you were adorable therefore making it socially acceptable- what a shift in perception (any man would almost sit and beg for this kind of freedom).
So now you can see that the meaning of 'It's a dog's life' can be altered so dramatically according to perception and the meaning we attach, the same theory can apply to anything.
Now we're getting to the point of all this 'it's a dog's life' yabbering. There is a point.
When someone barks abuse at us, we often attach meaning to it such as they don't like us or they think we are useless. This meaning is what molds our perception of the situation. The person barking abuse at you might have a very different perception of the situation. They might have felt challenged by you or intimidated by you. They may have shouted abuse to try and gain power over you.
You might say something and someone laughs at what you have said. You might not have intended it as humour and now you attach meaning- such as- you're perception of this event is that they think you are silly. Meanwhile their perception might be very different. They might have attached meaning to what you said as quick wit. Their perception might be that you are very clever and enjoyable to be around.
Next time something happens that causes a mental or emotional reaction, consider what your perception of the situation might be if you were to alter the meaning you first attached.
We are in control of what meaning we attach to all aspects of our lives. Therefore we are able to alter our perception. We see this in so many inspirational quotes.
What meaning is attached here determines how hard work is perceived.
Leaving you with these thoughts, I wonder what meaning you attach to things around you. Life is so much easier when we can give up attaching negative meaning and change our perspectives.
This is my biggest challenge-creating a better mindset by changing my perception due to the meaning I attach to things.
