As I sat in meditation today by an open window, a dog visiting my neighbors barked and barked. The barking was regular but not at rhythmic, predictable intervals. Yap . . . yap . . . nothing . . . yap, yap . . .
Instead of finding this distracting, I discovered it was a great tool. Having something beyond my immediate control to notice but not react to was very useful, an external manifestation of what goes in internally.
After finishing, I glanced out the window to find the dog looking right at me from his vantage point forty yards away on my neighbors’ porch. Good dog.