The ideal of calm
I met this contemplative kitty while strolling on Roanoke Island, September 2013.
“The ideal of calm exists in a sitting cat.” ― Jules Renard
A year ago today, my post was about the exotic and mostly unknown world of undersea creatures. Today I’m thinking of the wonders that are often hiding in plain sight, among animals we see so often that we scarcely notice them.
Dogs, cats, birds, squirrels and rabbits…you probably see at least one of these furry or feathered friends every day. Today I hope you’ll take a few minutes to look a bit more closely, and see what they might have to teach us.
Cats, of course, are masters of the art of relaxation. Dogs excel at lavishing affection, or at least interest and attention, on humans. Most birds and squirrels seem to have boundless energy; I can’t picture one looking lazy. And rabbits can be the most unobtrusively intrusive, adorable but annoying animals around, if one is trying to grow something they find tasty. Their cuteness is such that I can’t really get angry at them no matter what they consume. I wish I could borrow their ability to appear harmless and cuddly while behaving disruptively.
While few creatures can match the contagious calm radiated by a sitting cat, watching almost any kind of animal is a great stress-buster. When things get a little too overwhelming, practice seeing the world through non-human eyes for a few minutes. It might be just the perspective you need.
One year ago today:
This post was first published seven years ago today. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, below. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.
- Posted in: Uncategorized
- Tagged: amusement, animals, birds, calm, cats, dogs, fun, joy, observation, rabbits, relaxation, serenity, stress-busters
Defeat Despair 
Julia,
“The ideal of calm exists in a sitting cat.” ― Jules Renard
This is true. But I caution anyone who enjoys having their cat sleep on their unclothed chest, when a pot hits an uncarpeted floor in the next room.
-Alan
Alan, it sounds as if you speak from experience! Yes, those cat claws can catch us off guard. 🙂
Ha! I love that you said this:
“I wish I could borrow their ability to appear harmless and cuddly while behaving disruptively.”
😀 Try as I might, I have not been able to master that trick.