Cup of Inspiration

We have much to celebrate throughout the month of December. The final month of the year brings Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, New Year’s Eve, and all the festivities leading up to the actual holidays themselves. In case you’re looking for another reason to celebrate, we can add National Cat Lovers’ Month to the list. This month we appreciate the cats in our lives.

Not everyone appreciates cats. Yes, they will probably not run to you every time you call for them. They have a mind of their own and can be strong-willed. They may very well stare right at you in open defiance while pushing a bottle off a shelf. They will work to figure out how to open the cabinet door to access their cat food and will sit on top of the book or computer you are trying to read.

Cats can also be loving. They can sense when you’re stressed and need a furry friend to sit close by offering a little purring as a comforting distraction. They can bring laughter as they rush into a nearby paper bag or cardboard box. They can offer a loving meow to start off your day, even if at times that starts way too early in the morning.

Cats are often misunderstood. Yes, they can get in the way of you doing your work. They aren’t being jerks; they just really treasure their time with you and don’t like to see you focusing on something else. Besides, maybe they sense that you really need a break from those emails after all. Perhaps they are waking you up earlier than you were planning, but that does give you more of the day to enjoy with your furry friend, and with the amount of sleep cats enjoy during the day, perhaps you can squeeze in a little refreshing nap as well. Cats can get into a lot of things around the household, but much of it is because they are intelligent with a high sense of curiosity.

Just like we may misunderstand why the cats in our lives behave like they do, perhaps we misunderstand other people in our lives. The cashier at the grocery store wasn’t particularly friendly, but what you didn’t realize is that she just found out her child will have to endure some medical tests. The man that rushed by in a hurry seemed like a jerk when he didn’t help hold the door open while your arms were loaded with packages, but maybe he was in a hurry because he just got a call that his wife is in the hospital. That coworker in the office is never friendly to you, but what you don’t know is he is going through a divorce.

It is easy for us to jump to conclusions about the actions of others. It is possible that a person who didn’t show you kindness is self-absorbed, but it is possible that person is just in pain. We don’t know another person’s motives unless we talk to them. Before rushing to judgement, consider the fact that we all have problems in life, and sometimes those problems spill over into how we conduct ourselves out in public.

While we can’t sit down and have a conversation with a cat to figure out why they do what they do, we can talk to veterinarians and other experts to get an idea of why cats do certain things. Give a cat the benefit of the doubt before immediately concluding they are just out to ruin your day. Then consider using this same patience with other people you encounter in life.