Calm in the Chaos - Tips for a Better Life
The Lion, the Dog, & the Bone
Why is my book titled The Lawyer, the Lion, & the Laundry? The Lawyer represents your career or job or work; for me, that's lawyering. The Laundry references everything else, like taking care of your home and family and everything that goes with that, including the laundry. But what's the Lion? The Lion is about mind management: meditation and mindfulness and practices that support them. Here's why:
by Jamie Spannhake
September 15, 2019
Why is my book titled The Lawyer, the Lion, & the Laundry? It's a book about managing your competing obligations with career, family, social life, and everything else. The Lawyer represents your career or job or work; for me, that's lawyering. The Laundry references everything else, like taking care of your home and family and everything that goes with that, including the laundry.
But what's the Lion? The Lion is about mind management: meditation and mindfulness and practices that support them. Here's why:
The Story of the Lion, the Dog, & the Bone
Imagine that you have a bone in your hand. Sitting across from you is a dog. As you wave the bone around, the dog follows every movement of the bone. The dog may not even notice you; instead, he is focused on the bone. You move the bone left, his head moves left. You raise the bone over your head, the dog looks up. It's as if the dog cannot help himself; he must follow the bone. If you throw the bone in the corner, the dog will run after the bone without hesitation.
Now consider the same scenario, except rather than a dog, there is a lion sitting across from you. As you wave the bone around, the lion might notice the bone, but he also notices you. As you move the bone to the left, the lion might notice that you moved the bone, but more likely, he is focused on you. When you throw the bone into the corner, the lion is not likely to chase it. He may turn his head to the corner, but he chooses not to follow the bone.
The bone is an analogy for your thoughts. You want to be more like a lion and less like a dog. You want to choose which bones -- thoughts -- to follow, rather than chasing every bone you see -- or thought you think. You want to remain focused on what is important to you, rather than chasing every thought that crosses your mind.
Be the Lion.
In my book, I teach you how to be more like the lion than the dog (even though I love dogs!) by teaching you how to start and grow your mindfulness and meditation practices as well as other activities and thought-practices.
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