Walk Like A Man

Despite our intelligence, humans are just another species of animal. One of many on the planet. Besides tools or language, or perhaps as a result, humans have a particular way of moving around. Instead of darting from place to place like our brethren in the animal kingdom, humans walk with a calm confidence.

Even the most stressed out person walks with more focus and self-assuredness than the calmest wild animal. This is because wild animals are afflicted with perpetual paranoia. There is no simple trip to the watering hole, for there is danger everywhere, and opportunities to exploit before some other type of animal gets there first.

Humans have neither of these worries. We revel in danger, and have clearly already outcompeted everyone else.

Humans walk around Earth like they own the place. But what is more interesting is that we are not the only ones who possess this attitude.

A good dog, a dog who has been raised well, strolls across the planet with the same confidence as a human. Compare the way a dog walks to other animals, or even strays of its own species. Dogs do not constantly look over their shoulder, or dart off in crazy tangents, or any of the other neurotic behavior displayed by wild animals.

Like humans, dogs walk around like they are the owners of the Earth. Everyone else is just a guest.

This poses several questions. Did dogs learn this confidant attitude from us? Or did we learn it from them? Or, over many generations of companionship, did we pick up the trait from each other?

The world is a scary place, full of unknown traps and dangers. But like all scary things it is not so bad with a trusted friend.

Maybe it would be good for birds and squirrels and all the other wild animals to get out more, hang out with creatures that are different from them. If birds and squirrels were friends, like dogs and humans are, maybe they wouldn’t be so afraid all the time.