A simple lesson from the cats

Today, while watching and playing with newly born cats in our farm, I observed how animals truly live in the present moment and enjoy every aspect of their lives. It’s interesting to see their lifestyle – the mother meets her partner for mating without any concern for societal norms or not thinking about any morals and the father’s involvement in raising the children. Once she conceives, she rarely shows herself, and when she gives birth to her kittens, she hides them away for almost a month to save them from outside dangers. Only when they are ready to hunt for their own food does she bring them into the light. It’s truly amazing to witness their way of life.

As humans, it’s natural for us to feel jealous or pity when comparing ourselves to animals. At the end of the day, our so-called achievements often lack real value. Animals don’t worry about the complexities of life, such as where their next meal will come from. They simply live without any concerns and fully enjoy their lives. If we were to ask them what they have achieved in life, they would have no trouble answering. However, if they were to ask us the same question, we might struggle to provide a satisfactory answer.

While observing the cats, I noticed that they were fully engaged in playing with each other. They didn’t sit and contemplate finding shelter or securing food for the future. They didn’t waste time thinking about arranging loans for their daughter’s marriage or stressing about dowries.

At what point did we as humans deviate from this carefree path? When did we start obsessing over the future and burdening ourselves with worries every day? We plan highways for the next hundred years and seek ways to harness energy from the sun for the next thousand years, even though these things may not directly benefit us. We even contemplate the marriages of our grandchildren and search for ways to achieve immortality or meet our demise in a tragic accident.

This is the nature of being human. We often forget to live in the present moment and instead focus on accumulating everything for tomorrow. While we may not be able to change this inherent aspect of our nature, we can at least find solace in the fact that animals, like the cats I played with, are able to fully enjoy their lives.