Things I Learned About Love From My Cat

"If there were to be a universal sound depicting peace, I would surely vote for the purr" - Barbara L Diamond

• Always be ready to play

• When you are happy to see someone, stretch your arms up to them and ask to be picked up

• If the person you love forgets to feed you dinner, don't take it personally

• Talk to the one you love, incessantly and constantly

• Don't be afraid to ask to be touched

• Show your love and adoration by bringing presents

• Purr when the person you love is anywhere near you

• Encourage the person you love to take naps with you

• Always comfort the person you love, regardless of whether they need emotional or physical comfort

(Author unknown)

A Diamond in the Rough

"Invest in the human soul. Who knows, it might be a diamond in the rough" - Mary McLeod Bethune".

We’ve all met those difficult people who are hard to love. But love them we

must. Just how to love them is the hard part.

Maybe if we can imagine that the love we know that person has within,

hidden behind hard, rough stone edges, is actually a diamond sparkling inside.

(Easier said than done, for sure!) Our job, then, is to chisel away that hard

stone, that “diamond in the rough,” clearing away the “ugly” parts that keep it

from shining! We can polish it with positivity and love! We may be very

surprised when that person begins to light up and sparkle around us and in the

world!

Part of loving is helping others to be the best versions of themselves. We

can try to bring out that beautiful sparkle in everyone we meet. . .and let’s be

sure to polish up our own sparkle and shine from time to time, too!

We Were Made to Need Each Other!

"We need joy as we need air. We need love as we need water. We need each other as we need the earth we share" - Maya Angelou.

Sometimes it can be hard to ask others for help when we’re in need. Maybe it’s a feeling of pride, or stubbornness, or unworthiness. But those feelings are “us”-centered, not “others”-centered. When we reach out for help, we’re actually showing love to others by:

• allowing them an opportunity to give of themselves, their time, or their resources

• showing we trust in them

• being an example of humility

• letting ourselves be vulnerable before them, demonstrating that we all need to be lifted up from time to time (someone helping this time may be the one struggling next time)

• letting them know they are needed and of value to you and in this world

• helping them think outside of themselves

We should always be willing to reach out to others for assistance. After all, we

were made to need each other!