The right to do what's best for you
Aragorn teaches you the most basic ways to show yourself some love and why it's totally okay to do so.
Hey guys,
Hope you’ve been well. I apologize for turning my back to you last week and guess I have some explaining to do. You see, summer was tough. And the last few weeks especially. We were dealing with a 3-week long heatwave, so I spent most of the time lying on the floor, hiding under the armchair. Lying is the word to remember here, as I surely wasn’t relaxing or sleeping but barely trying to survive. I'm sure you can appreciate how exhausting that must have been.
On top of that, we had yet again some unapproved visitors. My hooman's sister brought that little noisy hooman again. She’s grown a little now and is a bit less tiny, and a bit less scary. Turning more and more into a regular hooman every day. Though she still has a long way to go and a lot to learn, she had much more respect this time – she's clearly been learning the ways of the world.
However, basic rules of conduct still seemed to be escaping her, as she kept trying to touch my paws and try to put her tameless little finger right into my eyes. Just outrageous and totally out of limits. Oh well. She'll learn.
So yeah, one did not have his peace and quiet as usual. Not to mention the attention I deserved.
So when it finally cooled down, the visitors left and things got back to normal, it all caught up with me and suddenly I felt like I just needed a break. And so, I decided to take it. Totally unplanned, which felt so good.
I mean, at first, I of course felt a little bad for you guys, thinking you’re so dependent on me, and you’ll be so disappointed if I don't show up. So I wanted to check with my bros and see if any of them had anything to say and could fill in for me. But when I saw how soundly they were sleeping, clearly feeling similar as I did, I decided I was not going to wake them up and ask. We all deserved a break!
You see, sometimes you just have to give yourself a permission to do what's best for you. And let go of all those feelings of guilt. Because if you don’t you won’t be of much help to anyone and you won’t be much of a nice cat or hooman either. You’ll be grumpy, moody, and totally uninspired. Which is a bit of a problem if you wanna inspire others like I do. So for me, it was a no-brainer.
You know, one thing cats are good at, is self-love and self-care. I notice hoomans struggle with these areas big time. But I guess it’s because they’re so out of tune with themselves and their own needs, that they put themselves last. Now, occasionally, this is acceptable. Even I sometimes go and cuddle my hooman when I see she’s sad or clearly needs a break but she just can't see it - even when I myself may not feel like that and would rather keep on sleeping. But sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do for those you love... But if this is happening all the time and if it is your normal, soon enough you will burn out. And that’s no good for you. Warmth is good, but heat certainly not. So you don’t want any burning to be happening around you, and least of all to you.
So taking a break, an unplanned break even works as a cooling mechanism that prevents you from burning (out). It allows you to take a breath and just be. And do nothing at all. Or – only what YOU choose to do, like playing with that new toy or enjoying your new kibble. Quiet times and simple pleasures, my dear ones. Always, the best remedy.
Now, I’m sure you noticed I said no apologies and yet at the very start, I did apologize to you. So before I leave you today, and to avoid any confusion, I want to set this straight too.
You see, there’s a difference between just being polite and apologizing for letting someone down - and feeling guilty about it when you know there was no other way. I do feel sorry if indeed I let you down, but I do not feel guilty about it. Because I did what I had to do and made the best decision I was capable of doing given the situation.
So, feel free to apologize. Apology is always a nice thing to do. But be unapologetic about your right to do what's best for you.