The Unexpected

How do you feel when you encounter unexpected circumstances in your life?  Certainly the current situation is among the “unexpected” for most of us, but I know it’s far from the only one I’ve encountered.  Some of these are funny, some frustrating or stressful, and others simply weird.  But that great commonality they all share?  We can learn from them!

One of the most amusing examples I have of the unexpected is one I wish I’d caught on video all those years ago.  This goes back about 15 years, when all of my cats were young and one who’d snuck out had recently had a litter of kittens. As all kittens are, these were tiny and adorable, and they’d just gotten to the stage where they wandered around the house.  The adult cats – other than their mother – still didn’t really know what to make of these small aliens, but for the most part treated them with equanimity. 

Sambuca (“Sam”) – littermate to the kittens’ mom – was no exception.  Along with the other cats, she observed the little kittens and mostly stayed away from these small interlopers.  All that changed one day when the kittens were about 4 weeks old.  Sam was a slightly tubby, small black cat who loved snuggles and had full confidence that she too was adorable and snuggly.  So too were the kittens.  

On the day in question, Sam and one of the small black kittens approached each other in the hallway.  For reasons to remain unknown, Sam decided to tell the kitten who was boss.  She puffed up her body and tail fur, arched her back, looked down at the little kitten, and hissed.  Having not heard this sound before, the little kitten had no idea this was meant as a threat.  It looked at Sam for a moment.  Then, it puffed the fur on its tiny body and spiky little tail, arched its teeny back, and made the most minute of hisses.  I bit my tongue to keep from breaking out in laughter.  But Sam?  This was the most unexpected behaviour possible!  Sam reacted by levitating straight up into the air – in memory, about 3 feet, but probably more like 12-15 inches.  She was shocked, and I wished desperately (not for the first time!) that I’d had a video camera running.  THIS was the kind of real-life moment that wins money on the “funniest home videos” shows.

Sam and the kitten each continued on their way as though nothing had happened – dealing with the unexpected by ignoring it or considering it an aberration in life.

Sometimes, that’s a good way for us as humans to deal with this as well.  Some unexpected things are just that – a blip in our life that doesn’t really impact us.  Some unexpected things, however, exist to make us think.  It’s interesting that Sam never again hissed at one of the five tiny kittens who wandered around our home for several more weeks before going to their forever homes.

As of today, May 7^th, the whole world is part of an “unexpected event” – at least, this is certainly something through which I never expected to live.  What will you learn or gain from this experience?  Kindness, awareness, the realization that our world is truly a community?  

For me, I’m learning that adversity brings out people’s true colours – be they gentleness, fury or blame, a supercilious attitude or an understanding one.  And applying that understanding attitude also means tempering any judgment with the knowledge that we’re all dealing with different things.  I can’t see yours, and you can’t see mine.

As Jewel said in her song “Hands”, “…in the end, only kindness matters”.