Dogs are great. Change is better.

I have always said that there are two types of people in this world. Dog People and Cat People. For the better part of my life I preferred the former. See, my rationale is that people who like dogs are more loyal and trustworthy than sly and sneaky cat...people. I know I'm painting things with an enormously broad brush, but it's just the way I felt for a long time. Let's examine the traits of cats for a moment. They are quiet. Which is fine...until you catch them lurking silently in a corner, eyes glinting and just clocking...you. It has happened to me before and I can honestly say it freaked me the hell out. Cats are moody creatures. I hate that. At least with a dog, some consistency is shown.. If they look mean and bark like the three-headed Cerberus today, chances are that's what you'll get tomorrow. But cats will let you stroke their coat for what seems to be forever in your lap and then suddenly turn around and hiss at you. You may even get a scratch or two. Scary stuff.

Anyway, this is less about a person's pet preferences and more about how growing older purports change. It may be something on a definitive scale or it can be something gradual. Either way, inwardly you feel a shift and just know that you've grown a bit. Certain things require more of a thought process than say, ten years ago. And then there are those other things in life. Things that fly in the face of all conventional wisdom but somehow makes perfect sense. Lately, these things are revealing themselves to me in increments. I once asked someone I knew what defined them. Their answer? Time. I must admit I found this reply most off-putting. It annoyed me. In my mind, we are ALL defined by time. What we do with it, what it does to us and everything in between. It seemed like grab-bag answer at best, but it makes sense to me now. Some things deep within are only revealed with time.

Now, I must say that I have been and will probably always be a Dog Person. Puppies are cuter than kittens and at the end of the day- I can't have anything around me that I don't trust. That holds true for cats, people, situations...you get the idea. But I feel a shift. Perhaps I am a little bit of both, simply shape-shifting between this functional world of conventional wisdom and a world of unfathomable astral circumstance . And while I may never be a Cat Person per se, I have to marvel at how much I now appreciate the feline's talent for balance and soundless movement. Time has shown me that I have the instinct to land on my feet. That I can climb as high as my own autonomy takes me. Time has done nothing to dull my loyalty, but a cat's independence is something to admire- and I feel the same way for the first time, just beneath the surface. Only time has revealed that duality to me. I can only wonder what else is in store. Those brave butterflies that flutter by in your ribcage when you realize that you are getting closer to your purpose.

Rawr...