Someone's Always Got It Worse

As I write this entry, I'm lying on my bed looking out the window as snow falls outside. There's something really life affirming about a fresh layer of snow outside your door. I'm not sure why that is but it's pretty much the only thing I love about winter. Sure, I'm going to have to spend an hour shoveling like no one's watching tomorrow morning just to be able to get my car out of my driveway but at this very moment it makes me feel good.

You know what else makes me feel good? It's meeting people that are less fortunate than me. Before you get righteously indignant, let me explain. I'm not talking about people that are homeless or who's villages have been ravaged by a flesh eating plague. I'm talking about the run of the mill people you come across in your day to day life who just seem to have a few more problems than you do. I know it sounds cliche but I'm always amazed by the fact that no matter how bad I think I've got it, there's always someone who's got it worse. The key to this strategy working for you is not to go overboard with it. You've got to find someone who has just slightly more problems than you, like somewhere in the neighborhood of 10-15% more, based on severity of the problems or sheer volume. As soon as you cross this 10-15% threshold, the feelings of contentment with your life soon turn to feelings of sympathy and pity for this other person and that is the last thing you need. Well actually, the last thing you need is all of their problems.

Speaking of feelings of contentment, my cat has recently lost some weight. I haven't spoken of my cat's weight problem before but in light of her recent weight loss I've decided to go public with her struggle. My cat is about five years old and as she entered her cat teenage years she began gaining weight above and beyond normal levels. A lot of it seemed to be emotional eating and who could blame her since she's gone through a lot in her short life. From losing her entire family in a tragic drowning incident and being moved across the country. Who could blame her for using food to numb her pain? I felt almost helpless as I watched her weight spiral out of control. As much as I tried to reduce portion sizes and get her to be more active, nothing seemed to have any affect on her weight. I tried to tell her it was for her own good and that even though I loved her just the way she was, society wasn't going to be as accepting as I was. The more I tried to help her, the more she pulled away. I tried to tell her that she needed to do it for her own health and more importantly my pocketbook since I couldn't afford a big vet bill if she came down with some life threatening illness.

Nothing seemed to work and I just ended up feeling helpless and alone...but that was actually unrelated to my cat's weight problem. Anyway, about a month ago, I got a new kitten. With the addition of the kitten to the family, my cat has been forced to move more than twice a day. This new fitness regimen, coupled with the fact that the new kitten eats my cat's food, has resulted in some noticeable weight loss. In the end, I couldn't be more proud of her. Not just because she lost the weight but because she did it for the right reasons - fear, intimidation and emotional trauma.