I Switched Beds with My Dogs
Tags: Life, Dogs, Lifestyle, Happiness, Lessons Learned

I Switched Beds with My Dogs

Photo by Joe Cox on Unsplash

When I saw my two dogs sleeping in their bed with some chasing games in their dreams, I wished I were a dog like them.

I was not able to solve the problems in my life. I even thought it was better if I couldn’t wake up from my bed one day.

However, I never see my dogs getting up unhappy from their bed. Probably it is where the magic comes from.

So, I decided to switch beds with my dogs.

Thankfully, I found the magic of life there.

Got up early.

I got up at 7 am.

I used to get up around 9:30 am. So, it was early.

I’ve read a lot of How-to-get-up-early articles, none of which made me really get up as early as the dog beds did this time.

Since I got up early, I tried to benefit from the extra time as I read from the articles.

Unfortunately, none of them worked.

I didn’t get a productive day; I didn’t feel less pressure from work; I didn’t find the time and energy to work out; I didn’t feel I was ahead of everybody else…

However, I got something else.

I didn’t have to do my reading in the noises of saws and blowers; I saw the man with the best car on my street drove to work first; I saw a wonderful scene of a beautiful girl running with her dog; I saw my old neighbor kindly pushed my trash bucket from the street back to my driveway; I found my coffee tasty, for the first time.

Finally, I realized that the benefit of getting up early is very personal. For me, it’s simply that I see a different life.

Alert to the surroundings.

I took it for granted for years that dogs are alert. No “Whys” ever came into my mind until I slept on their bed.

I could hear the expansion of the wooden floor when the heater was working. I could hear the friction of the screws in my bed when my dogs were tickling. I could hear the wind when it was blowing through the gaps of the window. I could hear the footsteps of my dogs when they were reaching their bowl for water…

I could hear anything around, when I was sleeping.

I realized that I could be as alert as dogs if I put my ears as close to the ground.

If I were able to catch as many details as I did on the dog bed, I shouldn’t have made those mistakes in my work, I shouldn’t have disappointed my wife, and I shouldn’t have hurt my friends so many times.

Have to choose to warm one part of my body.

I couldn’t fit my entire body into the dog bed even though I did curl up myself.

I felt cold.

I tried several times to warm myself until I realized I had to choose between my feet and my head to be laid on the floor.

Every time I tried to have it all and failed, I felt colder.

Finally, I compromised. There is just no way to “have it all” on the dog bed.

Did I try too hard to have it all in my life? Maybe.

Maybe I should have adjusted my desires when my ability and my situation could not match them.

Actually, I didn’t feel as cold as I expected when I left my feet on the floor.

Good things were in my dream.

Surprisingly, I had dreams, good dreams, on the dog bed.

Before that, everything in my dream was like a past-due reminder on my calendar, my wife dancing with another man, me getting fired by my boss, or my friend pointing at my face with a gun.

However, this time, I dreamed of basketball.

I stopped playing basketball due to some personal reasons years ago, but the days on the court are always the best time of my life.

On the dog bed, I made a buzzer-beater, again. I was thankful that I still remember it when I got up.

It was great. For a very long time, I had not seen such a confident, energetic, and happy me.

I promised myself that I must bring the person in my dream back to life.