Selfie
A sweet ginger cat showed up on our school campus the other day. Actually, the back door was open to my classroom and she walked right in. I couldn’t resist taking a selfie with her as I tend to do this whenever we travel. She doesn’t seem to belong to anybody but is quickly becoming popular with the kids. But, not everyone is a fan.
Cat Hater
Unfortunately, I work with someone who seems to truly despise animals, cats in particular. This person has threatened to kill the cat to get rid of it. He has also repeatedly offered to get rid of the cats that live on our housing compound and expressed his hatred for these animals. In our expat community most of us work and live together on the same compound. There’s like no getting away from difficult people. You have to do your own “work”, if you know what I mean.
Now, there may be reasons why he’s so worried about this cat. I’m willing to be understanding about whatever circumstances have led a person to be wherever they are. But, I absolutely will not tolerate the threatening or harming of this innocent creature. This is causing me to experience extreme feelings of anger. To be honest, I’m actually really pissed off about it. It’s not like there’s a cheetah on the loose.
Mindful Madness
As one of my mindfulness mentors, Kaira Jewel Lingo, puts it; “Mindfulness doesn’t discriminate.” You’re allowed to be mindful and mad at the same time. This is about welcoming all thoughts, feelings, and emotions that arise. Here I am, watching and allowing these feelings so that I can deal with them skillfully. I’ve been doing this for 2 days now and every time I see this person my chest feels tight and I start doing that one-sided dialogue thing where I tell them just what I think. (Not productive by the way) Now, I’m not just mad, I’m anxious. This is giving me even more material to work with.
Anger is a tough emotion…
I love cats…
Global Mindful Family 
Hello Natalia, thank you for this. I too, love cats and most creatures. (Big and small) In my environment, there are individuals that I must deal with on a daily bases who create anxiety and speak of unsavory subjects. It’s difficult at times and feel that their jaded influences have corrupted my inner soul. I’ve read several books by the Dalai Lama and I often reach for their passages. I’ve been out of the loop for a while and I’m in the process of researching this young lady you speak of, Ms. Kaira Jewel Lingo. Here’s hoping we both are able to pull upon our inner strength.
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Here is the link to Kaira Jewel’s website. Right now I’m in a year-long certification with Mindful Schools and she is one of the lead teachers. A true inspiration! Thank you for checking out the blog, you are my first follower!
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