The Puppy Survival Guide: Lessons from the Ruins

I recently stumbled upon a rather heartwarming (and slightly hilarious) sight just outside my home. A dog, in the middle of a ruined house near ours, decided it was time to become a mom. And what a mom! She gave birth to a handful of adorable puppies who, despite being blind for the first couple of months, managed to figure out how to survive. Yes, those tiny furballs have been living their best life for two months—without sight! If that doesn’t make you respect the resilience of puppies, I don’t know what will.

It got me thinking... a human child, on the other hand, takes two decades to truly learn how to live. And some... well, some never quite make it. I mean, sure, we have more complex emotions, a penchant for existential crises, and the need for more fancy things like education and healthcare—but two decades? It's almost like the puppies skipped the "getting lost in the store" phase and went straight to “I got this.”

By the time they're old enough to run around, they know where the food is, how to navigate the world with a certain "I’m the boss" attitude, and they’ve probably developed a level of street smarts that most grown humans wish they had. Meanwhile, humans are still working on finding their keys. And don’t even get me started on trying to find meaning in life.

So, here’s my lesson for the day: maybe we should all take a page from the puppies' book. It’s okay if life is a bit of a mess at first. They were blind for the first couple of months, and yet, they learned what they needed to survive and thrive. Maybe we, too, need a little more blind optimism and a bit less overthinking.

As for me, I’ll be out there with my “I got this” puppy mentality. And if I get lost? Well, at least I’ll look cute doing it.