Hny

Will it be a happy new year?

Only if you make it so. There’s nothing one can do about the world, only personal circumstances. And this flows from decisions.

So getting married, buying a house, investing in Nvidia, having a baby, moving to Saint John, signing up for law school, buying a diner, understanding AI, having a vasectomy, getting a Corgi, being elected, learning French or scoring a good job because you bought new pants and actually went downtown for an interview – that stuff matters. More than tariffs, Trump, wars, Carney, inflation, the central bank or fiscal policy,

Worry about what you can change. Then change it. That’s the path to satisfaction. Perhaps even joy.

As the calendar flips, this blog has been in existence for 18 years. You’re reading post number 5,799. The word count is about 4.6 million, or the equivalent of 77 books. As for comments, 949,815 have been published as of this moment. Dog only knows how many have been deleted, ghosted, or merely caused nausea and internal bleeding. And speaking of canines, for years now –  almost daily – a reader’s pooch and story has been showcased. The movie deals, magazine covers and Netflix specials that have resulted from this exposure: 0.

The point is that 18 years ago – or whenever you stumbled in here, blinking and traumatized – you had choices. The words are meant to offer suggestions, interpret current eruptions, explain some stuff and make you think. In close to two decades of swirling events we’ve all seen massive change, from politics to economics, social media, technology plus cultural norms, tastes and standards. And we’re all 18 years older. Are you better off? Did you harvest any wisdom from the blog posts or the lunatics in the comments section?

Hopefully so. Or maybe you just came for the dogs. That’s okay, too. They teach us. They’re here on this pathetic blog for a reason.

Dogs can’t change the world, but they still find peace, love and contentment in it. They adapt, cope, modify their behaviour, learn and flourish. Like us, they can intimidate, bully or manipulate. Unlike us, they’re not arrogant, discriminatory, greedy, selfish or driven by envy, lust or vitriol. They’re happy renting. They don’t hoard. And they don’t care if you’re fat, bald or beautiful. They don’t see skin colour, social standing, portfolio size, gender or occupation. They can love unconditionally, if allowed. They can be therapy animals. We suck at it.

Thus, dogs rule here. They teach us. Grasp what you can. Chase what you want. Sniff and ignore the rest.

HNY.

About the picture: “Hello Garth from the West Coast,” writes Lloyd. “I know Ziggy has been featured before as the dog “centrefold” but I submit this as insurance against pics of cats, chameleons and all things non-canine, this time featuring Ziggy’s athleticism.  She loves retrieving sticks in the water, Chuckits and Frisbees and will catch them almost 100% of the time as long as I throw them properly.  The photo was taken by a soccer dad, Mick from Australia, who was trying out his new telephoto at his daughter’s soccer game. Keep up the always-appreciated stellar work!”

To be in touch or send a picture of your beast, email to ‘garth@garth.ca’.