Dog Poop and Humanity
A seemingly inane but highly inflammatory thing I deal with every day is people not picking up their dog’s poop. I say seemingly inane because who wants to spend more than a minute or two of their day ruminating over something so trivial? As I stroll past that pile of dung each morning-whose owners I see and wave at, all the while knowing they’ve left their dog’s waste for the world to deal with-I am in a rage about the lack of responsibility humanity operates with. It’s the little things right? The little things are the big things.
So, I am writing about doggie dookie. Yes, I am hoity toity like that. I am endeavoring to resolve my philosophical dread inquiring into this seemingly irrelevant behavior that, for me, represents all of humanity. It’s not really about the poop, obviously, rather it’s about who someone must “be” to live in a neighborhood with other people who have dogs, watch them pick up the waste and willingly decide not to offer the same courtesy. Forget that it’s a violation of the law, I’m not that anal [heh, heh] it’s about who we are for each other as human beings.
Let’s take the case that the dog pile represents the impact we human beings have on each other. Every action I take as a human being leaves something in the world. When I smile at the check-out dude or ask my neighbor how her day is going, I am leaving something in the world. When I cut someone off in traffic or I snarl impatiently at the person with 27 items in the express lane, I am also leaving something in the world. In the latter case, I’ve left poop in the world while, in the former, I’ve left a nice clean lawn bereft of said poop, and maybe even planted a pretty flower.
I spend my days as an Executive Coach teaching folks how to leave more clean lawn and less poop. We’re constantly defecating on each other in the world.
For us humans, it takes the form of:
You should think like me.
What’s wrong with you?
Where’s your “common” sense?
I’m right and here’s why.
You’re wrong.
If only my Husband/Wife/Parents/and everyone else in the world would do this or that thing then I’d be happy.
We poop on each other all day every day and then, rather than bend over and pick it up ensuring we’ve left a clean lawn for others to walk on, or holding it in until we can get to a proper receptacle, we stroll away righteously entitled to our view and leaving it sitting there in the world like a steaming turd for everyone to deal with.
If we shifted our context in this one way, the world could change. If we really confronted the way we behave in life from the context of whether or not we were leaving a clean lawn versus a pile of excrement, something could shift. Abstractly, it’s a great notion, but what would that look like for us human beings? I suppose it would look like me ensuring that each time I take an action or open my mouth, would I pay attention to and be responsible for whether or not I was about to unload on someone. Is what I’m about to say/do going to forward what I’m committed to or is it going to leave something undesired and stinky for others to deal with?
Given we human beings are imperfect and often not present, and also from my own very stinky experiences, we often poop before we realize that is what we’re doing. I suppose again the action then, would be to pick it up. The truth is sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t because I can rationalize or justify why it was appropriate with that person or in that situation. Given the lack of responsibility in that despite what I may feel entitled to, the action to take be me circling back and cleaning it up, being accountable for that I didn’t have the presence of mind to refrain from pooping in the first place.
“I’m sorry I pooped on you.” That would be a start.
So, dog poop is a perfect metaphor for the human condition. What if we picked up our poop and left a clean lawn for all? What would be possible then? All of humanity unite! Let’s pick up our poop people! Who wants to organize a march? I can see the signs now…
