The Vanity of Our Judgments

Over the summer, my girlfriend volunteered as a camp host for Dead Horse Ranch state park in Cottonwood, Arizona. One night, it was necessary for her call the police to handle some unruly guests. When they arrived, their lights and sirens startled her cat, Piccolo, and she ran off into the woods. To some pet owners, this would be no big deal. In this case however, it was an apparent disaster.

Piccolo belonged to my girlfriend's sister until she passed away in 2015. This cat represented a connection between my girlfriend, and her sister, and her departure was received as a lapse of responsibility. Couple that with the fact that Piccolo is an indoor cat that was not acquainted with her surroundings.

As I would visit over the following days, she would express much grief over this predicament, certain that Piccolo had met her demise to the coyotes, and other predatory wildlife in the area. While holding her in my arms, I comforted her with the assurance that she didn't truly know that, but was jumping to a conclusion (although very plausible) without all the facts. Another factor that adds to the dilemma is that her volunteering time was about to expire, and she would need to relocate.

Her move took place 2 weeks after Piccolo's departure. During the third week, she accompanied me on a trip to New Mexico to retrieve the remainder of my belongings. While there, she started getting reports of sightings of Piccolo by rangers, and other hosts. Upon returning, we went to the park one night to look in the area of sighting, but to no avail. Then, the following Sunday, which was the fourth week, we arrived early morning to look, and call her name. Just as we were about to get in the truck, and leave, out strolls Piccolo from under a shrub next to the entrance office, and walks right up to us.

Piccolo is only 4-5 pounds as a full grown cat. When we found her, she had been reduced to skin and bones. My girlfriend, who is a veterinary technician, was convinced that Piccolo would have died of starvation within 24 hours had we not found her. So we bought some food, took her home, and she has been jubilant ever since.

The point in publishing this is to encourage the reader to not allow their circumstances or the evidence of their senses to dictate to them what reality is. We all have access to more power than we can possibly imagine. Agonizing only tells the universe that we are disconnected from that power. It doesn't allow us to utilize it.