A Stray Cat Reminded Me: Perspective Is Everything

Last week in the newsletter, I mentioned that life has been difficult for me lately, to the point where it’s comical. I won’t get into more details, because they don’t matter. Perspective matters. I’ve seen it by creating momentum every day in this storm.

Something else happened on Mother’s Day to help my perspective even more.

My sister and I went for a long walk on Mother’s Day night. We were maybe two miles away from home when we heard a cat meowing loudly. We’re both cat lovers, and so we did what cat lovers do and pet the cat. We quickly noticed a couple of things—the cat was starving and she had scabs all over her body. She wasn’t meowing for attention, she needed our help. I ran back to my car while my sister stayed back with the cat. My sister had already named her Yuna by the time I picked them up in the car!

Long story short, Yuna was terrified. My sister held her, and got pretty scratched up because Yuna was so afraid, and hungry, and alone. When we got her back to the house, Yuna was frazzled and confused in a foreign new environment. But then we fed her the finest wet cat food there is. She devoured it. Within 30 minutes of that, Yuna was sitting on my niece’s lap, purring so loudly you could hear it in the other room.

To see her fear slowly melt into trust and then into love… well… it melted all of us, too.

The next day, we took her to the vet to treat her wounds and get her vaccinations up to date. And we are taking her to a no-kill shelter soon, to the place where I got my cats (candyscats.org in FL).

Here’s how this cat changed my perspective:

Yuna helped me see outside of my own problems. I was so focused on myself, which can happen when life gets tough. But when I saw how much Yuna needed my help, it really pulled me out of that.

Yuna helped me see how fortunate I am. This cat was as helpless as creatures get. She hadn’t a single soul in her life. Completely alone. Completely abandoned by the world. And she was unable to take care of herself. It’s absolutely heartbreaking. I often feel lonely as we all do, but it’s obviously nothing compared to this poor feline.

Whether it’s cats or humans, helping others really helps us to see our lives in a better light. Like I said last week, despite considerably worse circumstances, I’m happier and more fulfilled today than I’ve been in a while. I heartily recommend building momentum daily and saving random stray cats.

For momentum, read my new book. For stray cats, a long walk should do it? Above all, remember that your capacity for happiness and joy is not dependent on your circumstances, but on your perspective.

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