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I was reading something about offices and working environments that allow workers to bring their cats. These offices keep cats around because cats help people feel calm and relaxed. The cats are not there to be mascots or to keep people safe, get a pitbull if you want security from an animal. The cats are there to walk around while people work on their computers and sometimes complain a little bit. I stopped reading for a moment when I came across this. The idea of offices with cats really stayed with me for a while, which surprised me. Offices, with cats just seemed like a good idea.
Work stress is really weird. You are just sitting there, your eyes are hurting you from watching the screen all day. Somebody can send you an email that'll make you feel bad for hours. If I had a cat that is sleeping on a chair, walking around and perhaps I could pet, it'll take my mind off the stress a little. The cat does not care about when things have to be done. The cat is not impressed by what people's jobs are called. The cat is just there. Just doing that feels like it is doing something.
I am not really sure why I like cats, definitely not a dog person. Cats do not try to make me happy. They just live their lives. Maybe that is the point of cats. You look up from the screen. There is a cat, stretching, licking its paw.
I am thinking about work spaces a lot. They are really straight and measured, you know everything has its place. Then something like a cat jumps on to a desk. All the papers go flying and it is like nothing big happened. Formal work spaces are still formal. A cat can make things a little fun.
This thought keeps coming to me. Stress relief does not always need to be from talking to a therapist, long emails and online videos about wellness. Sometimes stress relief is just having a body near you, the stress relief that I am looking for, and best part is that warm body does not ask me any questions.
I think about someone who is having a tough morning. They are dealing with transportation problems. They are also worried, about money. To make things worse they have a lot of tasks to do. Then a cat walks by. This moment is nice. Sure it does not make everything okay. It makes things a little less tense. The cat makes the bad morning feel a little better. The transportation problems are still there. The money worries are still there. The tasks are still there. Because of the cat these things do not feel as bad.
I think about it again and again. It might look small but small things often sit with me longer than big ideas. This is a small big idea.
