A walk down a different path. A Lesson from a cat.

This morning, I took a walk. No prompting from my wife, no promises fulfilled to anyone, just a time to walk.

It began when I woke up, dressed and saw my wife secluded in the other room studying. It looked so nice outside, so off I went. Now Kathy and I will go for a walk and quite frankly it can be a real pain. Too long, too much of this or that. I know I shouldn't complain but sometimes I feel like that.

Today was different. I started the opposite direction and began praying as I walked. There are always lots of things occurring in our lives. But today I began by praying for the people in the houses I passed, then the people in my life, the events that are coming up. Then the end of the block. It was time to decide which way to go.

I decided to go the opposite way that we usually go. I continued my conversation with God as I walked and then saw someone familiar. Someone furry. I thought it was him so I called out his name. Napoleon. He looked at me and I called his name again and he strolled over to me. I tried to get my cat to follow me, but he stopped after a few steps. So I picked him up and walked. That didn't last long. This is a cat after all. After I set him down and continued my walk, I called for him to follow me. Instead he just lied down in the middle of the road and stretched.

See, my path of following the pavement around the block made no sense to Napoleon the cat. He can just walk through peoples yards and no one seems to care. He walks a different path. Just like I walked a different path today. And those paths were different from each other, but the most appropriate for each of us.

So what are the lessons? Different creatures and people see can see life very differently. Some of see what looks like the best (or only)way to go, while others see the same situation very differently. And that is okay. Are you stuck? try a different path. Find out what someone else would do. Remember the destination you want to arrive at is sometimes more important than the path you take to get there. And each path has it's own unique perspectives. Judge Less. Take a path or create your own, like Napoleon, the cat.