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About two months ago A and I were riding the motorbike along the rice patties in Hoi An and out wandered a helpless kitten, covered in garbage and crying for help.
He was extremely young, weak, and wobbly. He looked at death's door. Admittedly, shamefully, if I was alone I'd have driven on by, cause hey, can't save em all... And that's one of the things I love about A. She couldn't.
We swung back around and stopped on the side of the road to see if we could help it. As we did so he followed us and sat at our feet, begging for help. He had cuts on the top of his head, looking like he'd been scalped, and he smelled horrible. We wondered if he'd been thrown from a motorbike into the trash.
Another man pulled over on the side of the road a few moments later, with a slingshot. He pretended to be looking over the bridge at who-knows-what, looking for something to hit. It was clear to us he was hunting down this little creature at our feet, either to put it out of its misery, or just for sport.
We brought him back, and over the following two weeks A nursed him to health with feedings and cleanings. We named him Slingshot.
I'm not saying everyone should go save kittens, though it might make the world a better place. I just want to point out how the curse of prejudice doesn't just kill new experiences in life. It kills us right along with it.
There were a lot of reasons not to take Slingshot home - disease, the responsibility, the other cats at home - and even more not to keep him. But this little guy, when he's not terrorizing our other geriatric cats Spirit and Shiba, he's a pretty good guy.
How many things in life do we pass by because our initial impulse is one of fear or skepticism? And more importantly, which part of ourselves is suppressed and silenced?
What are your kittens? What are those things in your life that could lead to new experiences, open doors to new opportunities, or bring unknown joys, but that look at first glance like a trash covered, disease-ridden idea or thing?
Maybe sit with it on the bridge for a few minutes without judging it.
Be weightless!
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