Fred in the cat pen
We knew that Fred had certain challenges when we adopted him, but were not aware that he didn’t have the ability to find his way home. After 2 very long absences, we realized that if we let him outside, chances were, he would get lost, so we constructed a “cat pen” for him. At first, I felt some guilt that his quality of life wasn’t as good as our other cats, who can come in and out as they please, but my quality of life was greatly diminished by the thought of him wandering around in the wilderness, so I had to make the decision to limit his range, for both his safety and my peace of mind.
Guilt and self-doubt are corrosive energies, and when I feel them, I look at the situation that I am feeling bad over, see if I can make a better decision now, and if not, I drop it. I did this with Fred. Every time the thought that his life was not as great as our other cats, came up, I said to myself, “I am done with that thought. Fred has the perfect life for him.” Eventually my feelings lined up with this new thought.
After I have made a decision, I do what ever I need to (prayer, affirmations, meditation) to get it out of my conscious mind. If I don’t do this, I’ll start feeling like there is a ping-pong match inside my brain, until I end up with a whopping headache and feel incompetent to make a move lest it be the wrong one. Constantly second-guessing our decisions, and our lives, leaves us feeling unstable, fearful and insecure. I have enough confidence in the Spirit of Life, that if a better way, than the one that I have chosen, (regarding any situation) is available, I will be shown.
“When once a decision is reached, dismiss absolutely all responsibility and care about the outcome.” William James
