Pounce

I fell in love yesterday. It was my first day as a volunteer at the Humane Society. I was getting the grand tour, when all of a sudden, a little kitten about 6 months old or so jumped out from under the table in full ambush mode. Heh. He landed at my feet, looking like he had been plotting for a long time. I reached down to pet him, and he flopped over comfortably on his side, purring as I scratched his chin. He gave me a few love nips, and eventually I pulled myself away in order to keep up with the tour guide. Later, as I was learning about the mailing system on the computer, the little guy jumped up on my lap and snuggled up close. I melted. I forgot to mention that he name is Pounce, and he only has 3 legs due to some kind of accident. He's adorable. I'm glad he gets to stay upstairs where I will be working. As much as I would love to adopt him, I can't.

Volunteering was a nice change of pace to get outside myself and away from all the turmoil that seems to be going on in life lately. I seem to be watching everyone get into it- People at odds-neighbors fighting neighbors, family spats and random outbursts (or poutbursts if it's exceptionally whiny). Odd that I just wrote about my own upheaval, and here I am trying to calm down a friend who was clearly upset over an exceptionally egotistical a-hole who is giving her a hard time. I told her to breathe and keep the calm energy when she left, because she was in a much better state after talking. My boss and brother are dealing with crazy neighbors. I've met one of the neighbors in question, and I am soooo glad there's nothing like that where I live. But there's some strangeness in the air lately.

As I have noticed my own patience running thin lately, it made me realize that, as Diane always says, a key factor in getting and staying well is service. I haven't felt good about myself or my actions lately, but I will say that I felt better having spent two hours working for a good cause. More importantly, it reminded me of the things that are important. Focusing on a greater cause is a great way to get out of a funk. Spending time with friends and animals is too. Later in the evening, I even played Justin Bieber for a friend, and, embarrassed as I am to admit that, it felt good to do something nice for someone. He appreciated it too.

Things are changing in my life. I'm so used to struggling and resisting change, but I'm finding that it's less painful if I don't fight it. Realizing there's nothing I can do about certain situations goes a long way to helping me deal. It's still not easy, but it does help.