Looks can be deceiving. Take this picture. You would think it’s a remorseful look, but actually it is a smart dog looking away from the flash bulb going off.   One of my cameras shoots a red light out before it takes a picture, which gives my dogs a warning to look away.  It doesn’t take them long to get the message and react.

Sometimes people send signals that are deceiving as well.  I guess that’s why some of us get more guarded as we mature, but wouldn’t it be nice if people had the same warning lights as cameras?  So a red light goes off for the “I’m about to bullshit you” mode.   Brown flashes for “I think I’m way more important than I am, so I’m gonna tell you what to do.”  Yellow for, “I don’t know what the heck I’m doing, but I’ll look like I do until you figure it out and I’ll take the credit.”  Well, maybe that would work.  But instead, we sometimes have no warning and are left with that “WTF just happened” look on our faces.

When I’m bamboozled because I didn’t foresee the color of those imaginary lights, the next thing I do is self talk.  “Just let it roll off you.”  “Shake it off baby.”  “Hey, brush it off and move on.”  And these sayings remind me of dogs.   Dogs roll, they shake, and I brush them.  And dogs are my reason for being.  They make me happy.

And when it comes down to it, happy is the place to be, but boy does it take practice!