I had all kinds of thoughts when I came across this. The main one, though, is that we shouldn’t feel that we need to fulfill others’ expectations of us.
I guess we all feel the pressure at one time or another to dress and behave in a certain way. Some of this is good, but too much of it drowns the person within.
I’m glad I’m retired now for so many reasons. One of them is that I can be me. I can dress the way I would like, plan my day doing things that give me joy, ignore things I used to feel pressured to do or say. It’s freeing. It gives me peace inside.
My only regret is that I didn’t start doing this earlier. I now shed people I find over-critical, who make me feel ‘less.’ I embrace people who encourage me in my efforts to learn new things and be a better, healthier, and stronger ‘ME.” I say ‘no,’ to things I don’t want to do. I don’t apologize when it’s obvious that someone thinks I should leap to meet their needs, their expectations, and more. I’m learning to embrace the feeling of more control over my time, my feelings, my goals.
So, we can be like the sweet kitty above, who is trying to be calm when someone has decided this is ‘cute.’ I admire our Monster Cat, who actually bites us when we get too demonstrative in our affection. She knows what she wants, what she needs, what she will tolerate, and is trying to mold us into fulfilling her every wish. :0) A little of her attitude is a good thing…
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