Noisy Noise

I'll admit it. I'm shy, and strange noises startle me.

Since we've moved to California, it seems I'm always hiding in the cupboard above the fridge, which is a very nice spot, thank-you-very-much. I heard mommee thinking out loud this morning that maybe she should put sometime soft in there for me to lie on, since I tend to spend so much time there.

Yes! Yes!

My cave, AKA safe space.

The other day, we heard a VERY strange noise, a new one. (As if there aren't enough new ones.)

This is what caused it:

Crazy humans waving as they go over our house.

See that basket? Who would even want to ride in that, hundreds of feet in the air with nothing between you and the ground? And flames right over your head. It's craziness! 

However, from what I've been told, being in one of these things, which are called Hot Air Balloons, is very calming. There's no sound of rushing wind, because it goes with the wind. 

You also don't know where you're going to end up. It really depends upon which way the wind is blowing. The landing can be rough. 

Kind of like Life, huh?

We all think we're in control, but really, the only thing we can control is how we respond to a situation. Where the wind blows, the way the situation plays out, we only control our part in it - so I can be mad, I can be sad, I can be afraid, but none of that is going to change the situation itself. It only changes how I respond to the situation.

Curiosity can be a lifesaver in a strange situation. What is it all about? What caused it to happen? How do I feel about it?

I'm a cat, and you know what they (whoever they are) say about curiosity and cats. When  curiosity was being handed out, though, I must have been standing behind the door. I'm short on curiosity, but long on wanting comfort and safety. Jackson is much more curious than I - and also likes his comforts. So does that mean he's better balanced than me? Am I unbalanced?

When we feel safe, and we get curious, we can go any way the wind blows and be okay with it. A lot of people (humans as well as animals) don't feel safe, so their reaction to an event can be anywhere from hiding (me) to aggression (apparently this can be a big thing with dogs).

How can we feel safe, so we can flow with the wind, and have fun riding that balloon instead of worrying about falling out of the basket?

I think we need to make friends with whatever makes us feel unsafe and then let it go. Be curious. What caused this fear? Does it have a name? Where did it come from?

For me, it's being in a new situation. That's a pretty broad subject, but I was protected as a kitten, and even when I went to live with mommee and daddee, they kept me away from the bigger cats because they were afraid of what might happen. I believed I was unsafe unless I was someplace I was familiar with, and there were no strange sounds.

Me and my buddy Jackson.

Jackson is actually a good mentor for me. He was semi-feral, and lived with a bunch of other cats and learned to fend for himself. He's much braver than me, because when he was little his environment was always changing. (He does have other issues - like hanging his butt outside the litter box - for a quick getaway? - and then his poo falls outside the box. Disgusting.)

There's no right way to grow up, there's only what happened, and what we can do to stop it controlling us. Facing what went wrong is the best way.

I guess I should come out of the cupboard.