The reason domestic pets are so lovable and so helpful to us is because they enjoy, quietly and placidly, the present moment.—Arthur Schopenhauer
The human animal thinks mostly in terms of the future and the past, rarely in the present, though that’s where life is lived. The present is the closest we come to reality, and when absorbed in it, we are unaware of it, unaware of ourselves. Upon reflection, it often seems strange, perhaps because life is strange. How did we get here? Where are we going? Does life have meaning? What about when we’re gone? There is a lot to think about. Too much.
Cats don’t worry about any of that. They don’t worry at all. They are absorbed in the present moment. Can humans learn anything from this?
John Gray, author of Gray’s Anatomy, Seven Types of Atheism, Straw Dogs, and other philosophical writings, thinks we can. For a professional philosopher, his writing is surprisingly accessible to those of us possessing only a passing knowledge of philosophy but interested in the big questions of life. His books are divided into mostly bite-sized sections and can generally be devoured in a day (Feline Philosophy is only 111 pages).
In this time of turmoil, it’s good to know that there are ways to put it all into perspective. We have only one life. Might as well try to live it as best as we can. Feline Philosophy is not a pie-in-the-sky pop self-help book, it offers no magic bullets, but it might help anyway.