This time, Sid didn't look very happy.
"What's up with Sid?" I asked his human friend. "Why is he looking so miserable?"
"He doesn't want to go home," he said. "We've just come from the park. He met two dogs he's never met before and he's still not happy."
"Never mind, Sid. You still get to sniff all those shrubs on the way back, remember?"
Sid just scowled and dribbled. His friend removed a leaf that was stuck on his mouth.
"Do you know who Sid reminds me of when he dribbles? Hooch from the film, Turner and Hooch. Have you ever seen it?"
"Yes, I have," he chuckled.
"Cheer up, Sid!" I said. "Don't you want to chase me today?"
Sid turned his back on me to stare in the direction they'd just come from and looked back at his friend. I didn't need a dog whisperer to tell me Sid wanted to go back to the park.
"Sorry, Sid," his friend said, "we're not going back to the park. It's time to go home."
While Sid was sulking, I chatted with his friend.
"How old is Sid?"
"He's nine. Dogs in this breed only tend to live for about 10 years though some live a bit longer. The bigger the dog, the shorter the life span. I once had a Pyrenean who lived for just over 10 years."
"Do you only have Pyrenean dogs as pets then?"
"No, I have had other breeds as well."
"How often do you wash him?"
"I don't. He tends to shed a lot of hair anyway. I just brush his coat every day."
"I remember the first time I saw you and Sid was down at the Marsh. Don't you go there anymore?"
"We still do."
"That must be a long walk then for you," I said.
"We don't go there every day. It all depends really on Sid. It's his walk so he gets to decide. When we come out of the house, if Sid turns his head left we go to the park; if he turns right, we head to the Marsh. I have to keep him on the lead though or he just walks off."
Before I left my friend I stroked Sid's head but he was still in a sulk.
As I was walking through Sid's park, I thought about the paradox of choice. While the final decision of where to go for a walk appears to rest with Sid, it is not really up to Sid but his human guide. In the same respect, while I appear to have choices, the real decision comes from my Guide. Who exactly is my Guide? I believe my Guide is me as Soul, the multidimensional Self, the all-knowing Me. Therefore, while I appear to have freewill, there is no real freewill as my choices are already predetermined by my Soul's predisposition. For example, I only love writing because that's how my Soul has decided to express Self in this reality.
Put another way:
Thank you, Sid, for giving me further insights into the journey of the Soul. I hope we meet up again very soon."There are scores of outside forces controlling you at the moment," don Juan replied. "The control that I am referring to is something outside the domain of language. It is your control and at the same time it is not. It cannot be classified, but it can certainly be experienced. And above all, it can certainly be manipulated. It can certainly be manipulated, to your total advantage, of course, which again is not your advantage, but the energy body’s advantage. However, the energy body is you, so we could go on forever like dogs biting their own tails, trying to describe this. Language is inadequate. All these experiences are beyond syntax." The Active Side of Infinity, by Carlos Castaneda
Enocia
Related articles: Segregation and Integration; I'm Just a Love Machine; Who Rules the Roost?; Freewill; Following My Blueprint; Living in the Moment; Satellite Navigation System; Who is Really in Charge?
