Obedience.

While I was in the military, I was blessed to be part of the Honor Guard. It was a joint service detail where any person who had served in the military, whether it be combat or not, receives the entitled military funeral honors. I typically folded or presented the flag, sometimes both depending on the circumstances. Again, I say blessed for the duty was still to this day, one of the most fulfilling jobs I have ever had.

One story sticks out more than the rest. On many occasions, the entire service was conducted at the graveside. This different than most where the graveside was a short ending to a longer service, typically indoors. On this particular day in early Spring, the weather was pleasant with a slight breeze that ran across the cemetery that produced a slight whistle. The grass was fresh and green, the trees swaying in the breeze with the gathered sounds of thousands of fresh leaves rustling. The cemetery was next to a semi-busy road, which the service was mid-morning so the traffic was quiet with an occasional car driving by, a reminder of the solitude of death, yet the reality that life here continues. The family was there, two rows this time. Most funerals have one, but when two or there rows of the padded green chairs show up, you know this person was loved. 

The pastor stood up front talking briefly of the life of this old man, for he served in WWII. He talked about his house which must be outside of city limits. Typical vague details that I heard about people's lives. I and a flag holder, who typically presented then, stood at at ceremony ease, with our arms crossed in the back and heads down, listening, waiting to snap to attention and perform our duty. As the pastor went on he told of this man's passing from a unique perspective. He talked about the absence from the perspective of his dog. He said that the dog still sits on the porch, waiting for his master to come home. Looking out over what sounded like a long driveway, with no other expectation in life but blind obedience to his master. 

This was the first time I stood at the graveside and almost became outwardly emotional. I had heard so many other stories, so many personal things, so many people crying, even yelling out, "Why him?" These are all understandable responses to grief and as upsetting as they sound, they seem to be an understood and acceptable human characteristic. 

The dog however, the perspective of this man's possession in some respects, wanted nothing, expected nothing, except the missing puzzle piece to his life, his master. This is why animals for humans sake enrich our lives so much. The quality of obedience is unmatched by any human relationships. They sit, wait, and expect nothing, especially anything they are entitled to. They do not get bored in relationships and look to another. They do not cheat on us. They know where their food comes from and if they make a mistake how they cringe in anticipation without trying to justify their actions. They are all the best part of man, rolled into a creature with faces and bodies able to overpower humans if they chose. They don't though, and even if they do it was only because they were taught that or they have become senile. None the less, they will growl, warn, almost beg someone to leave them alone because they will bite. Humans don't warn, we harvest, we stay in our minds, thinking, resenting, hating, despising, all acts of intent a dog is not capable of doing. God gave man dogs with just enough to make them enduring and to contribute to our time while here. 

I have been around dogs my entire life, and anyone that knows my mom will tell you that dogs have a  significant place in our lives and our memories. However, they are not human and therefore do not get the recollection humans do in retrospect. Even the most beloved animals are remembered almost passively because they are side characters. We mourn their passing, but then accept it with a shorter grieving period than any human. They are here to add, but our minds know they are not forever, and unlike the gentleman who was being honored that day, they die in our lifetime. 

Authentic relationships can be hard to come by. Humans have these slight tendencies and responses to our environment where an "act" is more appropriate than the truth. We fulfill our roles, give our niceties, when honesty is always in style. Dogs show us what humans lack. They show us what parts of us we want more of and remind us that life is short and that we should live here now. Dogs only know this time, they do not worry about the future, they do not stay up at night thinking about the past. They live, and they live for us. 

In our life, character traits like obedience, loyalty, discipline against temptation, are all traits that we argue against. We justify our behaviors when we need to listen. We want to present an argument of our side when we did what we did. We want to eat the cake, think about it, dwell on it, and covet it, when we our own bodies disagreed so many other times. Obedience and discipline are overlooked characteristics that bring about some of the best qualities in us. It is good to look at these parts of ourselves and with humility, serve. We can serve a beggar no matter our societal status. We can learn from any person and their life situation without judgment. Like the dog sitting with their homeless master. We can learn so much from animals, if we just observe. 

I have tried to run my own show. I thought my ways were superior. I have gotten dragged down by my own sense of superiority. A dog shows me the parts I need to enhance, listen, humble myself, I am nothing special, what can I do for you?

For my entire story about my own disordered, thinking, Click HERE.