Monday, May 5, 2008

The Cat Is Dead

Got your attention?

Cleopatra, despite all my dreadfully negative paranoid proclamations, is thankfully still with us. She is however bored witless of my company and looks forward to returning to mummy this evening. Cats I find are attention-loving creatures and I am about 90% self involved so while we have a content coexistence I am not, as it turns out, a good feline companion. On to plan C...

So which cat is dead? Not Schrödinger's (well, maybe) but rather a different analogy that deals with facing the reality of one's situation. Particularly relevant to those people who refuse to listen to something (or anything) that life, the universe or God is telling them. So, just about everyone at some point then eh?

Today I am going to be insightful.

I find it fabulous how life seems so designed to teach us lessons. Given half a mind to listen - and potentially even apply - it seems to me that all sorts of revelation can come from the simplest, or even cruelest scenarios. I will not dwell on the source of these mechanisms (not because I think it is irrelevant but that is a whole other discourse) but I do find that we have the potential, every day, for personal growth and development if we choose to accept what we are learning in life. Before you tell me that it's easier said than done remember that I am being purely theoretical... Tune in next time for the beginners guide to executing change!

Why the morbid feline parallel? Well, this is in fact a real situation that I have borne witness to at some point in my life, the relevance of which did not go un-noted. A dear friend lost their wonderful cat companion in a very untimely manner. Sudden and unexpected loss/pain is something that most people are not unaccustomed to and this particular scenario seemed to so clearly represent the options one has when reacting; either choosing to let themselves move on and grow as a person or to give in to the grief and learn nothing (I am happy to say that said friend falls very much into the first camp).

So, from now on I clarify my options into three distinct camps:

A
Pretend that the cat is not dead. It was all a big misunderstanding that will work itself out so just don't give up hoping. This would have been easy to do since no body was actually seen and the cat was in fact a rare and expensive breed. The signs were misleading seeing as there was lots of evidence that suggested otherwise - like a patch of dug earth that was very small and unconvincing and a suspicious lying cat sitter who kept saying different things.

B Get a new cat. Find a way to quickly put the situation behind you without any overhanging pain. Cover it up with a cuddly new kitten. It will all build up and you will find your heart sitting on a pile of dead decomposing felines(!).

C Let the cat rest in peace and learn ....... [insert relevant message here]. Whatever your dead cat is, there is a lesson to be gained from the experience. Say goodbye, have a cry and be a better person for it at the end of the day.

So, what I am trying to say (aside from flagging up my pretentious, overdramatic should-get-a-proper-job status) is this: The cat IS dead. Don't let it be in vain. Option C is the way forward...

No comments: