My Sweetheart has a passion for rescue cats. Recently, we welcomed two foster kittens into our home. Observing them grow over the past few weeks triggered some thoughts and reflections on approaching life. Isn’t it wonderful that an armful of kittens can teach you new lessons for the upcoming new year.

Casey (Tiger Striped) and Daisy (Black and White) came to us as rescue kittens when they were a few weeks old. They integrated into our home which has four older cats and a big dog.  It seemed they were a little overwhelmed with all of it. But it wasn’t long until they were sleeping with us and on us. Casey would take to grooming my beard at 3 am.

On the cusp of a new year, I began reflecting on what these kittens have taught us about life. Here are 7 life lessons as taught by Casey and Daisy.

1- Be Fearless and Explore Your World. They have taken to discovering with gusto. They have climbed under, over and through so many places. They seem to always be asking questions. What is this pencil? What is this white stuff blowing outside the window? Why are you sitting on the toilet?

2- Be Curious and Push Your Boundaries. They are curious about everything which means They didn’t know that the dog would not be happy with them eating his food. They had to be shown that being on the dining room table was not acceptable. As part of exploring, they pushed all their boundaries to learn about their world.

3- Play to Discover Yourself. As they are growing, they play with each other and by themselves. In doing so, they develop their bodies and who they are. Casey and Daisy have two different personalities and although they play together, their individual play activities are different. Casey likes to chase a plastic spring while Daisy loves a red stuffed mouse.

4- Love and Cuddle Often. Both of the kittens love to cuddle. They like us humans and the other cats. Casey does have a preference for me while Daisy loves Sweetheart. There is no better way to spend an evening on the couch cuddling a purring kitten.

5- Rest and Relaxation. A well-rested soul can accomplish anything. You don’t have to feel that you are wasting time if you have to take a nap. Listen to your body. If you have to rest a little bit to have energy later, do like kittens and just do it. No need to explain yourself, it’s in our nature to have to sleep.

6- Live in the Moment. Why project the future or think about the past? Life is right here, right now. Now is the only time for action. I am so amazed by our kittens’ intense presence in the moment. They experience every second and are always aware of what’s around them. That’s living.

7- Be Yourself. The most important life lesson our kitten taught me is about who I am. Pretending to be someone else can never lead to anything good. Kittens don’t even know how to pretend, they are who they are. I am who I am and that is all.

With all their activity, they have made their way into our hearts. You don’t know how much they have entwined themselves with you until you are without them. When we visited our kids over the Christmas holiday in Toronto, Sweetheart and I went into kitten withdrawal. When they are adopted, we will send them with love out to the world.