a curious Yankee in Europe's court

Sometimes we learn something in the course of daily living that is just too good to keep to ourselves. So here’s my sharing for the day. It’s about the amazing transformative power of our mind, if we just allow ourselves to make use of it.

Years ago while trying to fall asleep — either for a nap or at bedtime, I don’t remember — some noises outside were keeping me awake. Trying to ignore them was useless. It came to me then that, perhaps, if I tried an opposite approach, it might be better.

So I began to concentrate on trying to hear all the sounds both big and small that it was possible for me to hear in those moments — including the noises. I imagined that they were all coming together to create a sound symphony. All I had to do was accept each distinctive sound/noise I heard into the orchestra.

It worked. The cacophony waned and was replaced by a sense of strange harmony. Very soon I felt asleep. This sound symphony technique continues to serve me well. Maybe it will work for you also.

What brought this to mind today was re-reading the famous poem by Billy Collins that is here below. Collins, being the poet that he is, explores the mind’s transformative power in his imaginatively amusing and insightful way.

Enjoy! (For those who can’t bear the very idea of reading a poem, there’s the video above.)

Another Reason Why I Don’t Keep A Gun In The House

The neighbors’ dog will not stop barking.
He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark
that he barks every time they leave the house.
They must switch him on on their way out.

The neighbors’ dog will not stop barking.
I close all the windows in the house
and put on a Beethoven symphony full blast
but I can still hear him muffled under the music,
barking, barking, barking,

and now I can see him sitting in the orchestra,
his head raised confidently as if Beethoven
had included a part for barking dog.

When the record finally ends he is still barking,
sitting there in the oboe section barking,
his eyes fixed on the conductor who is
entreating him with his baton

while the other musicians listen in respectful
silence to the famous barking dog solo,
that endless coda that first established
Beethoven as an innovative genius.

(Billy Collins)

I never give my dogs commercial pet food, but this ad is an irresistible winner.

I cannot resist clicking on any and all dog stories. So here’s last week’s saga of Rocky who trudged almost 500 miles across Italy to find the owner he was stolen from three years earlier (“German shepherd treks 700 km home” ANSA.IT, Jan 22).

Bravo, Rocky!

Last year the winner was a lowly beagle, this year it’s an aging spaniel. Whatever’s happening to the judges at the Westminster Kennel Club Show, I like it.

Yesterday, a spaniel named Stump won the top prize at Westminster’s 133rd annual competition in New York. Ten-year-old Stump, who almost died a few years ago, is also the oldest dog ever to win “Best in Show” at the event.

Evolutionary biologist John Dennehy wrote a post on his blog last month, poignantly expressing the pain of having to say good-bye to his amazing dog Sarah (The Evilutionary Biologist, Nov 10, 2008).

A team of scientists studying the barks of dogs have concluded that when a dog is barking because it’s lonely versus barking when a stranger wanders along, other dogs can tell the difference, according to a story today in New Scientist (“Dog’s bark means more than its bite” by Ewen Callaway, April 2008).

Okay. (But any dog owner could have told them that, if they’d just asked). Good they’re finally catching on, though.

As it turned out the beagle (a hound by any other name) Uno won (“Beagle wins Westminster dog show” The Kansas City Star online, Feb 12, 2008). Snoopy would be proud. It’s the first time a hound has taken the top prize at Westminster in 100 years of competing, according to the newspaper.

I have three dogs and, like most “dog people,” I never tire of watching dogs in videos (movies, photos, on the street, on the sofa, wherever). So, here’s a little bit of this year’s Westminster action (courtesy of Reuters video):