Guardians

I’ve always enjoyed a cartoon’s ability to capture the essence of a story, idea, or vision. Both word and picture have to be refined to an aphorism. What they call in Sanskrit a sutra, meaning thread.

While many people view cartoons as childrens fare, they did not start out that way. Characters such as Wile E. Coyote and Daffy Duck were first used in pre-movie cartoons for adults. If you watch them on childrens shows now, you’ll see the deeper message often present. Cartoons use humor or irony to step them past our guard, open us to the message.

Recently, I had the pleasure of reading Guardians of Being, a work that blends distilled messages of presence from Eckhart Tolle with images from Patrick McDonnell, creator of Mutts.

The main message is how dogs and cats live in the now. By spending time with them, we can be present. Be in the Now. Enjoy life as it is. Love unconditionally. The cartoons capture it beautifully.

Most intriguingly, Eckhart suggests the purpose of the dog-human relationship.

“They have been with humans for thousands of years, and now there is a link between dogs and humans, much closer than it has ever been.”

“So part of their divine purpose is to help us. But it goes both ways. Because by living with humans, dogs also grow in consciousness; it is reciprocal.”

“Because dogs and cats still live in the original state of connectedness with Being, they can help us regain it. When we do so, however, that original state deepens and turns into awareness.”

Beautiful. Of course, Eckhart’s Springer Spaniel would be a more present dog to start with. Some pets become overshadowed by their owners emotional state or have unresolved traumas from the past. But it’s very true that animals have a natural innocence and presence that can lead us out of our story. And we all enjoy being loved.

A review with a few slides from the book

Eckhart

Mutts

Davidya