Oliver's Observations

Spring has officially sprung, and that means Mother Nature is buzzing with energy all around us, with loads of transformations and self-awareness. So, since it's my month to pontificate, I believe I will discuss the productive use of energy--more specifically, my type of energy, Impersonal Energy.

Now, for those who are unaware, there are actually two kinds of energies. Yup, two: Personal Energy and Impersonal Energy. I'm a master at Impersonal Energy; however, my brother Sam carries a lot of Personal Energy.

Let me give you a rundown of what these two types of energies look like: Sam wants to be connected with you all the time, sit in your lap and lick your face, have your hands all over him constantly, giving and receiving connection. Sam wants to be one with you, joined at the hip. His happiness is based on your happiness. He is a pleaser and a big ol' busy-body; I, on the other hand, am more into personal space and respect. I like to lie down by your feet (maybe touching them lightly sometimes), sit by you on the couch, and, once in a while, I'll stand on your lap with my front paws only, looking you right in the face to see how you really are--but I'm not a lap-sitter or a big-time hugger. I like to know where I leave off and you begin.

I'm polite and mannerly, maintaining good, clear, energetic boundaries. Some call what I am differentiated, self-reliant, or autonomous. I call it savvy and professional (I think I could be British). I respect your uniqueness and individuality, and I have faith in your ability to take care of yourself. And I'm my own man.

If I could, I'd look you straight in the eye (except that's a little hard since I'm slightly cross-eyed, myself) and I'd shake your hand when you come in the door. I'd say, "Hello!" instead of "Hiya!" and I'd expect you to do the same back. I like to know about your life, but I wouldn't jump into it and bark "WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!" at it, thinking your life has something to do with me (oh, but Sam and his Personal Energy would).

If you are grumpy, that's okay. All living beings get grumpy, even in the spring! I just stay out of the way when someone has a case of the grumps. I don't hide, or cower, or bow down. I may be short, but have you ever heard my "play" bark?! I can sound simply ferocious, and that's a good deterrent for anybody who might think about messing with me! But when grumpiness is in the air, I just stay out of the person's way, so they can do their grumpy dance, being who they are and working through it. I don't take offense easily--I figure it's their business, not mine. I have enough of my own business to handle without getting all up into theirs.

Now that is not to say that I lack empathy, or the desire, to be your friend. I don't only use Impersonal Energy. I probably channel Personal Energy at, say, a 3 or maybe a 4 (on a 0-10 scale) most of the time; whereas, I channel Impersonal Energy at about a 6 or 7, or maybe an 8 sometimes. So, it's not that I don't have access to both! And being able to channel enough Impersonal Energy allows me to sometimes get a better sense of how you feel without getting confused and thinking that my feelings are your feelings, if you know what I mean. For example, Sam thinks you want to hug him and have him sit in your lap, even if you don't because he wants that so badly. He gets confused about who's who (or possibly he doesn't care), but he's a pretty nice fella and I love him, so he probably does care. Yeah, I think he just gets confused about whose thoughts are whose.

Anyway, that's what I have to say about the constructive use of Impersonal Energy.

If you want to know more about Impersonal Energy and Personal Energy, you could look here.