The car goes where the eyes go

"Gestures are all that I have; sometimes they must be grand in nature."
— Garth Stein (The Art of Racing in the Rain)

And when you own a dog, you must try to understand those gesture. It's not dramatic, it's subtle and warm.

"There is no dishonor in losing the race. There is only dishonor in not racing because you are afraid to lose."
— Garth Stein (The Art of Racing in the Rain)

No point blaming yourself from failing, at least you tried and you've stepped out. That's what matter. And failures will lead you to success. Don't care about the time, don't care about the deadline, try until you can imagine it in your dream, clear and detailed.

"Here's why I will be a good person. Because I listen. I cannot talk, so I listen very well. I never deflect the course of the conversation with a comment of my own. People, if you pay attention to them, change the direction of one another's conversations constantly. It's like being a passenger in your car who suddenly grabs the steering wheel and turns you down a side street. For instance, if we met at a party and I wanted to tell you a story about the time I needed to get a soccer ball in my neighbor's yard but his dog chased me and I had to jump into a swimming pool to escape, and I began telling the story, you, hearing the words "soccer" and "neighbor" in the same sentence, might interrupt and mention that your childhood neighbor was Pele, the famous soccer player, and I might be courteous and say, Didn't he play for the Cosmos of New York? Did you grow up in New York? And you might reply that, no, you grew up in Brazil on the streets of Tres Coracoes with Pele, and I might say, I thought you were from Tennessee, and you might say not originally, and then go on to outline your genealogy at length. So my initial conversational gambit - that I had a funny story about being chased by my neighbor's dog - would be totally lost, and only because you had to tell me all about Pele. Learn to listen! I beg of you. Pretend you are a dog like me and listen to other people rather than steal their stories."
— Garth Stein (The Art of Racing in the Rain)

Sometimes we just forget to listen. To people, and to us. As if we're very far apart that we shouted and can't get the meaning of the speaker. Listen. What the heart wants to bring out, what the soul want to express.

"I don't understand why people insist on pitting concepts of evolution and creation against each other. Why can't they see that spiritualism and science are one? That bodies evolve and souls evolve and the universe is a fluid package that marries them both in a wonderful package called a human being. What's wrong with that idea?"
— Garth Stein (The Art of Racing in the Rain)

That's only peace when everyone treat everyone as if they are the same kind - mankind. Not white, black, yellow, Christian, Buddhist.

"Somewhere, the zebra is dancing."
— Garth Stein (The Art of Racing in the Rain)

The fear, of actually nothing but yourself. Nothing can push you further and better except yourself. Don't worry about the past and don't worry about the future, when it's time, it comes.

"In Mongolia, when a dog dies, he is buried high in the hills so people cannot walk on his grave. The dog’s master whispers in the dog’s ear his wishes that the dog will return as a man in his next life. Then his tail is cut off and put beneath his head, and a piece of meat of fat is cut off and placed in his mouth to sustain his soul for its journey; before he is reincarnated, the dog’s soul is freed to travel the land, to run across the high desert plains for as long as it would like.

I learned that from a program on the National Geographic Channel, so I believe it is true. Not all dogs return as men, they say; only those who are ready.

I am ready.

Enzo"
— Garth Stein (The Art of Racing in the Rain)

And there he go. Far. And maybe he'll be in mama's tummy now, as a new life, as a human.

In memory. And way to go. We missed you.















p/s: The first time I cried HYSTERICALLY while reading a novel. READING. And yet, the story touched the very very deep part of my heart. I wonder the next borrower will discover my tears in the book or not...
p/p/s: Now I borrow Marley and Me. And I was reading it on the bus just now. ALMOST crying out loud. Just by looking those picture. Ahhh... Even now my nose feels sour.