{"id":10158,"date":"2013-07-27T05:50:04","date_gmt":"2013-07-27T09:50:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/?p=10158"},"modified":"2013-07-30T19:06:31","modified_gmt":"2013-07-30T23:06:31","slug":"caturday-reflection-is-the-grass-always-greener-on-the-other-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/caturday-reflection-is-the-grass-always-greener-on-the-other-side\/","title":{"rendered":"Caturday Reflection – Is the Grass Always Greener on the Other Side?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"grass\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Is grass really greener on the other side? The truth of the matter is simple \u2013 maybe it isn’t. But then again, if you never decide to look, maybe it is. The choice or crossroads dilemma becomes how much you really want to find out and that is perhaps why I envy cats so much. Almost always, they want to know, consequences be damned.<\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s because they truly feel they have 9 lives, so why not? Or maybe it is because life is not so complicated for them. For many of us humans, that is usually not the case and we will stay in marriages, jobs, relationships, etc. out of a variety of reasons that stem from fear of the unknown \u2013 if I leave my job, what if I don\u2019t find another one? How will I pay my bills or what if I find a new job and it is even worse than the one I already have? If I leave my husband, what will happen to the children? Or will I be alone my whole life? Fear becomes the yardstick of practicality, even if we are miserable at work or unfulfilled in a relationship.<\/p>\n

A cat says, \u201cSo what!\u201d I\u2019m going to climb that tree to see what is up there, even though I may fall or be unable to climb back down, because you know what, maybe I won\u2019t fall and maybe the view from the top will be worth the effort. Sure, I\u2019ll try to jump that fence to see what is on the other side, even though my human is going to yell at me because maybe I won\u2019t get caught and I\u2019ll see a lizard or a squirrel in the yard. And yes, I am going to swat at my little sibling fur-brother for no reason other than I feel like doing it, even though it is going to make him mad, because it\u2019s just fun to see the reaction I get from him! Pretty liberating, huh! How many times have you felt like swatting someone, but knew you couldn’t because it would get you in a lot of trouble? I think driving home from work, I feel like swatting at least a dozen people alone!<\/p>\n

\"grass-zoey\"<\/a>

There is never not a tree that Zoey won’t try to climb. Of course she is completely supervised, but she doesn’t know that!<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"grass-peanut\"<\/a>

Peanut is adamant there is something better on the other side of this fence! Alas, she will never know, but a kitty can dream, can’t she?!<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"grass-mia\"<\/a>

One will never know what the view from the top is like unless one takes a look – that is our little Mia’s opinion on the matter!<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"grass-rolz\"<\/a>

Rolz likes to take a more low key approach to finding greener pastures, in this case, a brave look under the tiki!<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"grass-zoey2\"<\/a>

Zoey is just so precious as she wonders if she should take a look at what’s inside that planter… of course, you know she will because as they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained!<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"grass-kizmet\"<\/a>

Yeah, the urge to swat is just too irresistible when it comes to Kizmet. In this case, it is his perennially patient brother, Rolz, who is the recipient of his playfulness!<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now granted, even without fear, it\u2019s not always easy to take a giant leap of faith in search of new and greener pastures and just like people, some kitties are quite reserved (lazy) by nature like my Harley who would prefer to never venture off the couch if she didn’t \u00a0have to, and wouldn’t, were it not for the fact she has to eat and use the litter box. The grass is just fine for her on either side of the fence as long as it doesn’t require any effort from her one way or another! And sometimes we can be perfectly content with our place in time and have no desire for change either. The grass is wonderfully green in every direction we look. Then there are the moments when our universe is rocked and out of nowhere we are forced to look for what we hope will be greener pastures, such as when we are unexpectedly let go from a job. This can be extremely unsettling, difficult, scary, and overwhelming to say the least. Especially if you are not prepared for it and don\u2019t have a contingency plan in place.<\/p>\n

\"grass-harley\"<\/a>

Oh dear, thinks Harley. Just how the heck did I get outside and how do I get back inside to the comfort of my safe couch?<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

I liken that to a cat who has found themselves on the streets or in a shelter for whatever reason and they are forced to survive in a new environment and are not always themselves or are on the brink of survival. They can become timid or overly aggressive or submissive and not all of them have the wherewithal to be warm, friendly and trusting. In cases like that, just like with humans, a core support group of loving and caring people around you is often the most important aspect of getting through the day so that you don\u2019t feel alone, with no future in sight.<\/p>\n

\"grass-peanut2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For me, I think no matter where we are in life, the most important asset we have is believing in ourselves and having the courage and faith to look for greener pastures if we think it will improve our emotional frame of mind. Things usually have a way of working themselves out and the relief you feel once you make the decision to change your life can be mind-altering. Sure, it might be rough in the beginning, but think about the possible new journey ahead. Think like a cat. For example, for them, every door that you keep shut in your house for whatever reason, once it is opened, they rush to get inside and see it as a possibility of an exciting new adventure and they revel in the opportunity without wasting even one precious second of it! You know what I mean \u2013 it\u2019s almost like a magic trick. No cats in sight. Open the closed door, voila, cats instantly appear out of thin air! And if it’s not what they expected, all is not lost. They just shake it off and move on with the comfort that at the very least, a good nap will cure all and when they wake up they can start all over again with the prospect of another door being opened.<\/p>\n

\"grass-bed\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What about you? Have any of you changed the direction of your life in any dramatic way looking for greener pastures and how did it make you feel after you made the decision? Please feel free to share your stories.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And as a reminder, don’t forget to vote<\/a> for your favorite blogs for a Pettie and a chance for them to win $1000 for a rescue or shelter of \u00a0their choice! Zee and Zoey is up for “Best Designed Blog”- \u00a0voting is open until July 31st and you can vote once a day. WHEW….. We are almost done with having to post this reminder!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<\/p>\n

\"petties-2013-design\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is grass really greener on the other side? The truth of the matter is simple \u2013 maybe it isn’t. But then again, if you never decide to look, maybe it is. The choice or crossroads dilemma becomes how much you really want to find out and that is perhaps why I envy cats so much. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10168,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[175,1265,652,650,651],"class_list":["post-10158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration-healing","tag-cat-behavior","tag-cats","tag-enjoying-life","tag-grass-is-greener","tag-taking-risks"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/grass-peanut2.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10158"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10205,"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10158\/revisions\/10205"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}