Whenever I am faced with a difficult decision, I find it helpful to ask myself, "What would Harry do?"

I greatly admire Harry's peaceful, uncomplicated approach to life. Harry loves everyone, and everyone loves Harry. They want to pet him, scratch his ears, and bring him snacks.

I try to emulate Harry whenever I can. I watch him to see the things he does that make him so special. I feel that, if I could be more like Harry, I would be a better person.

Harry is friendly and kind, he avoids conflict. He never growls or even barks in anger (except at that Schnauzer who lives up the street, but hey, nobody's perfect). Harry lives simply and does not require elaborate possessions. He never chews on something that doesn't belong to him. He puts his pack before all else. He keeps things in perspective.

Now, this is all well and good, a nifty philosophy you may say, but when there's a crisis, a calamity or even just a plain old moral dilemma, what, exactly, would Harry actually do?

Well, with few exceptions, Harry would take a nap.

It's a simple but effective way to live, if you think about it. There are few problems that don't look better after a nap. There are few decisions that can't wait for forty winks, and there are few grand plans for which a good snooze would not make a safer, more sensible substitute.

Just think of the trouble that could have been saved if, for example, instead of conquering Europe, burning cities, looting, raping and pillaging, Attilla and his Huns had all just taken a nap. They wouldn't have been so grumpy and everything would have turned out much better for everyone.

Imagine how much safer, cleaner and less complicated the world would be if, instead of working on his theory of relativity, Einstein had just nodded off. "E=M . . C . . . ZZzzzzzzzzzzz . . ."

What if Amelia Earhart had given up that around-the-world nonsense and just tipped back the seat in her aeroplane and gone to sleep for awhile? She might well have woken up in a more sensible mood and might not now be missing. Think about that before you go strapping yourself into any cockpits.

We need not be at a pivotal moment in history, however, to benefit from Harry's psalms of somnolence. We can easily apply his philosophy to our everyday lives. For example, while you might think it's a neat idea to fix the plumbing yourself, paint the garage, or maybe invade France, these things will inevitably prove themselves to be more trouble than they're worth. Instead, follow Harry's example and find a nice place to lie down for awhile. Think happy thoughts, drift off and dream.

For no matter how good an idea may seem at the time, very few grandiose schemes ultimately leave the world a better place than it would have been if the schemer had instead just taken a nap.

So have a snooze.

That's what Harry would do.