Nora Ephron feels bad about her neck.

I feel bad about the polar bear that swam all the way to Iceland and got shot. (And I also feel bad about my neck)

Bao doesn't feel bad about anything. Perhaps that's the advantage of living in the moment, which dogs supposedly do. Most of Bao's moments are good moments, although it seems to me that he sleeps through most of his life.

Dogs do sleep a lot. I once attended a talk at a dream seminar at which a Tibetan monk explained that sleep -- and dreaming -- is actually our way of practicing for the moment of our transcendence to a higher plane. He also suggested that certain animals may have already attained a higher plane than human beings.

Shih Tzus were bred by Tibetan monks to sleep in the sleeves of their gowns and keep them warm while they meditated. But you already knew that, didn't you?

Bao is asleep at my feet. He's having a dream. It's a nice dream. His tail is wagging.