For the Love of Life!

by Ken Scroggs, LCSW, LPC, LMFT, CEAP

There once was a woman with a cat, and she loved her cat very much. She loved the cat so much that she took it everywhere. They took long walks together. She took it with her when she went to visit her friends and family. She loved this cat. The cat went with her on the bus to work and she even took it to the grocery store. She really loved this cat. They lived together in a nice home. On cold days she would wear the cat around her neck like a scarf to keep her warm. They spent all their time together the woman and her cat. They lived happily together for a very long time. But Life goes on as Life does.

One day Life happened. It was a normal day all in all, but on that day an unfortunate thing happened. The cat had gotten very old and it died. Of course the woman was very upset, but she could not part with her cat because she loved her cat so much. But the cat was dead now so this became a problem. She continued to take the cat on the bus to work and to all her friends and family. She took the dead cat to the grocery store.

After a while her friends and family decided to talk to her because the dead cat had started to smell very bad. They told her that she needed to bury the poor dead cat. But when they told her it was time to bury the cat, she said, “No I can’t, don’t you understand, I love this cat!” No matter how hard they tried to console her, she would not let go of the cat. But Life goes on as Life does.

Then another unfortunate thing happened. The bus driver would not let her bring her dead cat on the bus, and the boss would not let her bring it with her to work. Her friends and family would not let her come visit with her cat anymore which smelled so bad. Finally, she lost her nice home too. But the lady loved her cat.

The lady lost everything and then she died. Everyone was very sad because this did not have to happen. Of course friends and family buried the woman and gave her a nice funeral. They even buried her cat with her, as they knew she would have wanted. But on the tombstone it was written, “Here lies a woman who loved her cat so much that she turned her back on life, love, family, friends, work, play, happiness, music, art, sports, dancing, passion, fun, laughter, flowers, the sun, moon and stars and…”

If you are carrying around something you once loved that is now getting in the way of living your life, call the North Pines Center. We take these things seriously and understand how hard it is to let go. We are here to help because Life goes on as Life does. Call 770-448-1111.