Danny’s Freedom

I’ve just been reading a little Billy Shakespeare and listening to Kris Kristofferson. Genius will tell out. What got to me this day was how they both spoke to having nothing. Billy said: “Having nothing, nothing can he lose.” (Henry VI, Part 3) And Kris wrote: “Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose.” (Me and Bobby McGee)

In dog years, I’m an old man, or an old dog, if you will. With age comes experience and with experience comes wisdom. With wisdom comes the realization that we need nothing to BE, nothing to exist—only food and perhaps shelter. We accumulate so much crap and it never makes us happy. Here in America, we have a storage facility on every corner. We have so much stuff that we have to pay someone to hold it for us!

Over one hundred and fifty years ago, Henry David Thoreau told his neighbors that they saved things—put them in their attics where the stuff stayed until they died—only to have their heirs then sell the stuff to other neighbors who put it in their attics until they died, etcetera … etcetera … etcetera.

I reckon what I’m trying to say is that all we need—we dogs, you humans, and anyone else—is love. There is only love. There is fear, of course. The fear of not having enough, the fear of not being loved enough. But love always triumphs over fear. So, to my non-dog friends, I say choose love. I’m only a dog and I love my human unconditionally. Love those around you. Never, ever trade for your love. Never ask for something in return for your love because then it is not love.