17 February 2012

The art and wisdom of Enzo

The words of wisdom below derive from a new canine friend- Enzo.
He is the wonderful voice and main character of the book The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. I picture Enzo to look very much like my own dog, Wriley.

This passage gave me pause:

"Here is why I will be a good person.
Because I listen.
I cannot speak, so I listen very well.
I never interrupt, I never deflect the course of the conversation with a comment of my own.
People, if you pay attention to them, change the direction of one another's conversations constantly.
It's like having a passenger in your car
who suddenly grabs the steering wheel and turns you down a side street...

Learn to listen! I beg of you.
Pretend you are a dog like me and listen to other people
rather than steal their stories" (101-102).

I wonder how I will do taking Enzo's advice today?
It does ring true with some other advice you may have heard from a man named James. James said, "everyone should be quick to listen,
slow to speak, and slow to become angry."

Indeed.