thesoulpurposedotorg

I had been away from home for two weeks, away from my beloved fat, cuddly cat Buster. Buster pretends to be a cat but really is a dog in disguise . affectionate, playful, loves people and any attention they pay him, plays fetch, greets us at the door, likes to have his tummy rubbed. You get the picture . I.m nuts about this cat.

When I go away, I arrange for a cat- sitter to visit Buster. He gets the attention he craves, gets his fur brushed, and his basic cat needs met. But it.s not the same as .Mom. and Buster let.s me know he is not pleased with this arrangement.

As soon as I arrived home, he was in my arms, purring, stroking my cheek with his front paws and hugging me. Of course, I ate this up! I.m a sucker for an affectionate male, especially of the feline variety. I unpacked, went through the mail, caught up on my email and generally made the transition from getting home to being home, with Buster in my arms or on my lap through it all.

The problem came at bedtime. Buster was so happy to have us home that he couldn.t stop purring, Loudly. Very loudly. All through the night. He purred so loudly that I couldn.t sleep! Three nights later, finally calmed down.

Got me to thinking about what happens when any of us do without something we need for too long. Like when a baby is so hungry that their crying keeps them from being able suck the milk they need. Or when a person is so lonely for friendship that their neediness pushes others away.

I thought about when I was working 60 plus hours a week and had no way to leave the job behind. I needed rest so badly that my muscles began twitching and kept me from getting the very rest I needed. Until my body gave out and rest was all it could do.

It.s important to attend to our needs before those needs become a void that overwhelms us and every one around us. As the old wives tale goes .a body knows.. Buster can.t help but purring when he.s pleased with his surroundings. Our bodies can.t help but notice when we are kind to them and pay close attention to what they have to say.