Sometimes we miss opportunities and waste time out of fear of change. But one small event can change everything. The story of a woman who opened the door to a new life … a cat.
One of my friends lived for a long time in a rented apartment. The owner of the house grew old and turned from a good guy into a fat man with a bad temper. The house also fell into disrepair. First, there was a “out of service” sign on the elevator door – it’s good that only 73 steps led to its floor. The paint on the walls was peeling off.
The intercom stopped working a long time ago, and no one was surprised by the voice of a neighbor who, standing under the window, asked to throw the key. The oven worked in two modes – either moderately warm, or one in which the food was charred.
All friends asked – why is she not moving? She answered: “I have lived here for 18 years, and most importantly, they allow you to live here with animals.”
She did not want any changes and found a thousand reasons not to change anything.
But one day the owner of the house rang the doorbell to hand over the package, and a cat came out to meet him. She began to rub against his legs, purring loudly.
Too loud.
– What is it? the owner said.
“Oh, this is my cat,” my friend muttered.
“I don’t allow cats,” he said, and his stomach swayed from side to side, as if in confirmation of these words.
“But she lives here all the time,” she replied, trying to discreetly push the cat back into the apartment with her foot in a slipper. The cat thought she was being played with and grabbed her leg with her front paws.
The cat must be gone. Or I’ll evict you! the owner said. She was given a week to think.
She had money. She was aware that this apartment had turned into a bad place. That was not the problem. She didn’t want any change. She hated the very idea of moving. She is used to living here. Even knowing that she could find a better apartment, she wanted to stay. And I found a thousand reasons not to change anything.
And suddenly it dawned on her: she seriously worsened the life of her beloved pet
Late in the evening, she emptied the contents of the cat’s litter box into an opaque bag. I collected empty cans of cat food there and went with the bag to a nearby street, where I threw it into one of the containers. The radio was always playing in her apartment now.
She once spent a Saturday morning moving the “cat tree” away from the window where it could be seen from the street. The tray has moved to the far corner of the bathroom. Now the curtains on the window were always drawn, just in case.
And suddenly one evening it dawned on her: she seriously worsened the life of her beloved pet. This was the last straw.
The next day, she told at work that she wanted to move and was looking for owners who would not mind pets. After two and a half weeks, she found a nice little house with a separate entrance, a lawn, and owners who were very kind to animals and kept two Siamese cats themselves. New start!
For some reason, someone else’s happiness (our cat, friends or family members) is more important to us than our own.
New in every sense. Freshly painted walls, real wood floors. Dishwasher and dryer! A tree under the window, an oven that worked like a fairy tale, and the final touch – there was a special place in the hallway reserved for putting a cat tree there. There was no one happier than a cat!
You probably ask: is it all thanks to the cat? Did she show up at the wrong time just to kick things off? Maybe.
But I think the moral of the story is that many of us sometimes drag our feet along the path that leads to happiness. We all act like this sometimes.
And that for some reason someone else’s happiness (our cat, friends or family members) is more important to us than our own. And that it is worth taking a step away from our fears, and incredible opportunities will open up for us.