Watson

This blog is written by Lee Gale Gruen to help Baby Boomers, seniors, retirees, and those soon to retire find joy, excitement, and satisfaction in life after retirement. Her public lecture on this subject is titled: “Reinventing Yourself in Your Retirement.” Her memoir, Adventures with Dad: A Father and Daughter’s Journey Through a Senior Acting Class, is available by clicking here Amazon.com. Click here for her website: http://AdventuresWithDadTheBook.com

Now, on to my blog:

Life can be such an adventure.  Simple day-to-day activities can yield gold–unexpected finds and excitement.

I went to Home Depot a few weeks ago for the usual reasons people go there; it was just one of my chores for the day.  I was ambling around pushing one of their larger-than-I-am shopping carts when I turned down a random aisle.  In front of me was Watson, this beautiful English Setter as his owner informed me.  I had never met an English Setter before.

Watson was as sweet and gentle as he was beautiful.  He was also like flypaper, attracting practically every shopper who was lucky enough to turn down that enchanted aisle where he was holding court.  Watson brought strangers together as they oohed and aahed over him, petted him, asked questions about him, and interacted with each other over their shared experience.

Watson’s owner, or should I say the fortunate person allowed to accompany him on the other end of the leash, told the gathering crowd that Watson was a therapy dog, visiting inhabitants at places such as senior homes and hospitals to bestow his calm and magnificence upon them.

Watson accepted the adoration of all of us gathered around him in the Home Depot aisle that day without changing his demeanor in the slightest. He inhabited his purpose in life: bringing joy to those he encountered. He didn’t become puffed up with his own importance, demanding of rewards or social position, manipulative, or any of the other things humans in such a position might have done. No, Watson simply remained Watson–a uniter, not a divider.

We need more human Watsons in the world who will bring people together and unite them. We need less division and derision.  We need more calm, gentleness—more Watson-ness. Are we humans fated to encounter that only in other animal forms?

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