More Daily Dog Wisdom

 
 The Art of Racing in the Rain?

I am still following Enzo the dog as he narrates from Garth Stein’s book, The Art of Racing in the Rain. The purpose of using the dog as the narrator is to allow us people to step out of our skins and see ourselves in a different perspective.  So why not a dog—“man’s best friend?” 

Enzo is the pet of Denny the race car driver. During days alone, Enzo watches countless DVD’s of Denny’s races.  He concludes that:  “your car goes where your eyes go.”  Put another way, you cannot get to a new destination without a vision of it.  Your life follows your vision. 

Now, when you are racing in the rain, this becomes even more important if you are not to lose traction and spin out.  You have to cast your eyes in a different way, so that you can feel the “edge” of the tires, and not accelerate beyond that edge.  Translate:  Know your capabilities. Don’t run off the road. 

Now, I leave Enzo alone. We also never race alone.  There are others on the track.  Is the point of the race in daily life to win—it is for some.  Is it to run in tandem, which helps dry the track, i.e.—work together and increase safety?  The very first thing I learned in Driver’s Ed is this—“the art of the driver is power under control.”  We remain under control by respecting the right of way, which we do not automatically have, but take slowly and can always give to others.

No matter.  The point is that living is an art and needs an artist, not a mechanic.