I have lived with several zen masters - all of them cats... ~ Eckhart Tolle
I never used to be a cat person.
But after getting a couple of lady cats to counter balance the fact that
a) we had mice, and
b) we have 3 sons,
I realised a few things that opened my eyes to the face that cats are not just silly, unaffectionate fluff balls with claws that serve no real purpose.
Meet Tilly and Toffee
No, quite the contrary.
I reckon the way cats live their lives can actually teach us a few things about how to live ours. Because as I watch our 2 cats going about their daily business, it is very clear to me that there are a few things that they do, that I could do with doing more!
Toffee on a Stake Out
Cats live in the now
Like, time literally has no meaning for them. They are laser focused on what is happening right here, right now, whether it's sleeping, eating or chasing after bats. (Yup, Tilly actually caught a bat once, goodness knows how she managed that!). We humans spend far too much time in the past and the future, and not enough time really experiencing the now.
Cats are always stretching their bodies, cleaning themselves and generally looking after themselves
I'm guilty of the odd pajama day, not bothering with showers because I'm busy, and sitting at my computer for so long that my bones creak when I get up. They say cleanliness is next to Godliness... in which case my cats are deities of the highest order. We could all do with taking care of ourselves a little more.
Cats do not hold grudges
A few days ago I accidentally trod on Tilly's tail. She yowled. I screamed. A few quick licks (her, not me) and all was forgotten. Sometimes Toffee eats Tilly's food. Tilly doesn't start planning her revenge, she just comes and lets me know she needs more. Grudges are pointless. We could all do with letting shit go more.
Cats know the importance of sleep
Cats sleep so much because when they are awake they are tripping their nuts off (in my opinion). Sensory overload is their norm. Their ears and eyes are enormous compared to their tiny little brains. And of course they have ridiculously good sense of smell. As such they need to sleep around 18 hours a day to get over it. The natural state of a cat is complete relaxation. They are not all tense with worry, they don't try to hold their stomachs in in case they look fat. Cats just chill. And this means they can sleep whenever they want without a care in the world. We could do with a bit more of not giving a f*ck so we sleep better.
Cats are rather delicate creatures and they are subject to a good many ailments, but I never heard of one who suffered from insomnia. ~Joseph Wood Krutch
Cats play all the time
They love to play! They can't resist it. Even when they are hunting down cute little mice, they're just playing. Playing is good for the soul. People don't play enough, and I think a lot of adults have forgotten how to just play and enjoy themselves. Such a shame. Playing rules.
Cats know how to relax, any time, any place, any how
Cats are either doing stuff, or they're relaxing. They are mostly relaxing. I'm terrible at relaxing, although I'm getting better at it. It's like I feel like I should always be doing something or I'm wasting time. This is, of course, nonsense. The more you relax about everything, the more you can do and the better it will be. And the happier you will be. Go cats.
You can not look at a sleeping cat and feel tense. ~Jane Pauley
Cats know what they want, and are not afraid to ask for it
Yup. Cats don't shilly shally around, worried about what we will think of them if they start asking for their dinner half an hour earlier than usual. If a cat wants to sit on your head, they will do it. If a cat wants to do some strange inexplicable cat thing, they will do it. Self consciousness is not a word in their dictionary. And it shouldn't be in ours either.
A cat has absolute emotional honesty; human beings, for one reason or another, may
hide their feelings, but a cat does not. ~ Ernest Hemingway
Alrighty, that's all for now... Tilly here is asking for cuddles!
Have you learned anything from your cat? Comment and let me know!
All the best, Johleen. :)