Cup of Inspiration

Happy Friday! Today, October 27^th, we celebrate National Black Cat Day. These furry friends, while viewed in some cultures as lucky, others see them as bad luck.  However, we should never jump to conclusions.

It is understandable if a person with serious allergies does everything possible to avoid a cat coming down the street. This person’s desire to put distance between an approaching cat and themselves is based on reason. They do not desire to make a trip to the doctor’s office because of a chance encounter.

For anyone else wishing to put distance between themselves and a stray black cat wandering the neighborhood, they should look at why. Did they have a bad encounter in the past that brings up painful memories associated with the feline? While this doesn’t mean this cat would inflict harm, it can be understandable if a person feels some initial hesitation at a meeting. However, if the hesitation is based solely on stories one has heard about black cats, that they are unlucky, it should be remembered at this point that the fear is completely baseless.

Black cats, like other cats, can be quite beneficial to a community. They do provide pest control in an area. Beyond this, they also can bring a small slice of happiness to cat lovers. As a cat lover myself, the sound of a purring cat brushing up on my leg on a walk around the block can help me forget the stress of the day. I have never found a black cat to be unlucky. Instead, they have usually been very sweet. Yes, they do have an independence streak, they are cats after all. This sense of independence found in cats can be inspiring, though, not a bad character trait.

If one jumps to conclusions about black cats, they can cheat themselves out of a nice meeting with a friendly cat. Avoiding a black cat on the street might mean avoiding a few minutes of forgetting the trouble of the day while stroking a purring cat. By jumping to conclusions, you may cheat yourself out of a future feline companion that could be a perfect pet at home.

It is very easy to make assumptions. Instead of doing some of our own research and processing all the facts, it is far easier and quicker to just rely on what others have told us. We “know” that black cats are unlucky, only because of what we’ve been told. We can make this same mistake in other areas of our lives. Forming an opinion about people, jobs, places to live, etc. should never be based on jumping to conclusions.

Instead of assuming some “fact,” do a little research for yourself. Look at all the evidence in front of you before arriving at any conclusions. In doing so, you may very well make a friend or two, find a great opportunity in a different career, and perhaps find a purring black cat willing to keep you company at the end of a long workday.