My Kittens Are Life Coaches

The Babies
In recent weeks I adopted two kittens. I can only describe the experience as frenetic energy on steroids, and in several ways, they’re changing my life.
 
Here’s an example. I usually eat breakfast in bed. It’s the closest thing I can muster to an actual vacay at a real Bed and Breakfast. I wasn’t aware that honey toast was a feline favorite, but my kitten thought this was dessert. I was suddenly fighting the cat for the toast. It was hard to retain ownership. This wasn’t the relaxing breakfast I was accustomed to.  
 
I needed a Plan B, which meant eating at an actual table in my living room. The cats didn’t have the same advantage from this venue. 
 
My Lightbulb Moment
Giving up my vacay breakfast seemed like a huge sacrifice at first. But then, I noticed that the view of the trees and greenery from this vantage was scenic! What had I been missing?  All of a sudden, I was seeing my house from an entirely new angle. Instead of watching the morning news, I was looking at nature.
 
I’ve been bragging to friends about going minimalist, and these cats are forcing me in that direction at record speed. For instance, the other night I was awakened by the sound of something being destroyed in the kitchen. It was midnight, and I was soon cleaning up the pieces of a broken vase.
 
I didn’t need those artificial flowers anyway, so I threw them in the Goodwill pile.

I suddenly had two little assistants in my minimalist army. 
 
Covid
The Pandemic has pretty much frozen us in time. Although we may long for the good old days when we could leave the house, the truth is we’re stuck in a Groundhog Day simulation of the present. The present is all we have. We may as well make the most of it.
 
For example, I have a new appreciation for my house. If I didn’t already live here, I think I’d move here. 
 
I’m truly seeing things from a different angle.
 
And all this from eating breakfast at my dining room table. 
 

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You Rock, Henry Ford!

Who Gets The Credit?

Have you ever noticed the similarities between the human body and the car? Henry Ford did. In many people’s minds, he invented the first automobile. Actually, in 1886, two Germans, Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz, were the first to invent the gasoline powered engine.

Ford’s first automobile, the Quadricycle, wasn’t built until 1896, ten years later. If you’re a potential Jeopardy contestant, you might save this in your mental data bank. Otherwise, you’ll see where I’m going with this trivia.

The Comparison

The human body is such a magnificent design, it was no wonder someone used its prototype to take progress to a new level. So, how is the car similar to the body?

You can compare the function of the headlights to your eyes, the wheels to your legs, the air filter to your lungs, the frame to your skeleton, the electronics to your nervous system, the fuel to your digestive system. …well, you get the picture.

Think Out of the Box!

My point is…these guys really nailed the ability to think outside the box. These ideas didn’t come from their feet. I’m not downplaying feet, because they get you where you want to go, but getting a pedicure doesn’t help you pass the SAT. These guys used their brilliance and creativity to manifest their creations…and all this from their frontal cortex.

Thank Your Brain

I think we take the brain for granted. The body functions as a whole, but the mastermind, like the Wizard in the Wizard of Oz, is located there. There’s now information, however, that the heart is the real powerhouse, and it’s the heart that sends more information to the brain than visa-versa.

Just Try To Stop Your Thoughts

Why is this important? With 60,000 thoughts a day, you’re constantly talking to yourself. These thoughts can keep you occupied for the majority of your waking hours. Even when you’re involved in a conversation, you’re probably spending a good bit of time thinking of your reply rather than listening.

Let’s face it, we’re all just endless, bubbling fountains of thoughts.

Don’t even try to stop these thoughts, because you can’t. Yes, during meditation you can slow down your thoughts, but they don’t go away. The beauty of meditation, though, is it makes you aware of what you’re thinking, and the content of your thoughts makes all the difference.

Thoughts have power. They motivate you. They discourage you. They drive you towards happiness or despair. Doesn’t it make sense to use your brain to manage them, to tame them, to replace them, or even to select them?

Pick a Better Thought!

Just as you can choose to  change the channel, or flip around on Netflix, you can also change your thoughts when they’re leading you towards depression or despair.

How many times have you been excited about an idea until a negative thought, or a negative comment, stopped you in your tracks?

Well, here’s a quote from Henry Ford, and this is why we now travel by car rather than by horse. He said, and I quote, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”

Put that in your frontal cortex.

Childhood Memories

I’m Still Reading

It’s still the Pandemic, and I’m still reading…

In her book, “A Feather on the Breath of God”, Sigrid Nunez gives us a detailed description of her parents, and how she experienced them throughout her childhood. I’m guessing this continues into her adulthood, but I’m only halfway through the book.

 Of particular interest to me is the way she details the small wonders of life…those childhood remembrances that offer more sweetness than spice. It’s those memories, I believe, we can only truly cherish in retrospect.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

As much as people like to compete about who had it worse, maybe traveling through your childhood by letting your senses tell their story will give you a different history.

I remember the kitchen. It was red. I guess red was in vogue. But it felt warm…a sensual kitchen. Coming from that room was another sensual treat…the smell of bacon. 

Yes, I know I can fry my own bacon, but does a meal you’ve prepared for yourself ever taste as good as one prepared for you?

 Another memory is fireflies. Is firefly an anachronism? Do they still exist, or do I seldom (this means never) sit on my front lawn? And why would I? It’s a chemical cesspool. The lawn of my childhood was untreated. It had weeds. I could catch fireflies from the comfort of my own lawn.

We’re All Complicated

It’s been suggested to me that I write a book about my family. That always seemed like a monumental task. 

My memory is that of a child. Every human being is complicated, and as a child, you don’t have the brain development to see events through an accurate lens. In fact, do you ever? Can we ever see ourselves through an accurate lens? I doubt it. 

“A Feather on the Breath of God” inspired me. I could take a similar course. Knowing that I’m writing purely from my own limited perception, I could make a stab at it. After all, they are my perceptions. I have the copyright.

The Small Things

I’ve been told that during your life review, it’s the small things that count the most…the small kindnesses, those things we’re quick to throw away…the things we deem inconsequential.

Only they’re not. The smallest things can mean the most. When I write, I want to remember the small things.

Your Life…A Meaningful Design

When I was growing up, I remember watching a TV show called “What’s My Line?”. Several panelists would try to guess what the contestants did for a living.

This is what most people think of when they hear the words “Life Purpose”. In their minds, it’s a job. If you look back at your life, you can almost divide your life into chapters. This is actually one of the things we do in my Life Purpose Coaching program.

 As people look back over their lives, it’s almost like they’ve had several distinct lifetimes in one. This is what makes life interesting. Just about the time you’re entirely bored with your life, another challenge appears.

Purpose

Sometimes the new chapter, or we could call it Purpose, is not something you see coming. It’s a direction change totally out of the blue. Sometimes you get tiny clues, or fore-shadowing, of what’s to come, but you have to pay attention.

Foreshadowing

When I was around 6 or 7 years old, I saw a picture of a dock going out into the water. I was mesmerized. I remember staring at it, intrigued. It must have made an impression on me because I never forgot that picture.

Here’s what makes the picture so meaningful. It was one of those things I didn’t see coming. After I graduated from college, I got a job teaching in Florida. Did I apply for a job in Florida…not exactly. I sent my resume to what I thought was Nassau, the island. Where I actually sent it was to Nassau County, in Florida.

 One day as I was crossing a long bridge over a large expanse of the St. John’s River, I saw it. There was the dock I had seen in the picture. This was extremely meaningful to me and was evidence of foreshadowing, or early evidence of things to come. As they say, you can’t make this stuff up!

So, when you’re wondering what your life purpose might be, just know you probably have more than one. Would you bother taking the trip to planet earth with only one life purpose? I’m not saying that can’t happen, but I don’t believe it’s the norm.

A Meaningful Design

I think every major event in your life has purpose. I believe every minor event has purpose. It’s like your life is a jigsaw puzzle with trillions of pieces that fit together. It only begins to make sense when you have enough pieces arranged to form a meaningful design.

Your life is a meaningful design. Nothing is wasted.

A New Purpose

Last week I had to put my cherished cat to sleep. For the past 15 years, part of my purpose was to take care of him, and I believe his was to take care of me.

As I grieve, I’m know I’m on the cusp of finding new purpose, new meaning, or new something!

If you’re finding yourself on the cusp too, let me help you find your new something.

Question: What would you like your new purpose to be?