Karma’s a relaxing thought

Sweet like honey, karma is a cat purring in my lap ‘cause it loves me….

This is not a post about Taylor Swift because - and I hate to admit this more than anyone - I am truthfully getting a little bit of Taylor Swift fatigue.

It’s not about karma either but it is about my new kitten, kind of. It’s actually about adapting, but I’m going to use my new kitten - full name Regis Philbin Mucha - to talk about it because I’m obsessed with him. (You can follow him on IG here if you want to see consistent pics of his perfect lil British Shorthair face.)

Last week in the span of a few days, I started a new job and I became a first-time cat owner. When he first arrived, Regis hid behind my toilet. Then, after a while, he slowly started to crawl out and explore the rest of the apartment. He’d go out a few steps and then run back into his safe space… out a few more steps, then run back in. Just a few days later, and he’s already totally comfortable. Like, his safe space is my personal space; there is no distance between the two lol. He purrs like a motorboat, crawls all over me and rolls over constantly asking me to pet his tummy.

Change is hard. It was so hard for Regis; he was stressed, and I truly wanted to cry. And I think most of us have experienced unhappiness in life when change came about. I watched a TikTok video a while back where a woman in her 90s was asked for her best life advice: “roll with the punches,” she said.

Adapting to change, some say, is the key to happiness.

Starting a new job is hard, especially in a new industry you might not be used to; I speak from experience when I say there are going to be lots of misses - maybe even more than hits - but that’s all just part of the adapting process.

To adapt is a decision that we make. After our heart is broken, after we lose a job or start a new one, after we receive bad news, etc. Of course that is not to say that we shouldn’t process our feelings. But I do think that in the face of change, it’s helpful to have the ability to choose our mindset.

Psychology Today recommends repeating and meditation on this intention when our thoughts turn toward the negative: “I am going to adapt to this new present.”

What are your thoughts on adapting? You can find me on IG or just reply to this email. Or if you have any questions, send those, too. Getting your emails is still my favorite part of the week, so please keep them coming 🙂 

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