Last night our cat Calla went bonkers in the best way. As I was getting ready to go to bed, she raced around at top speed, repeatedly pounced on her toys, and jumped on and off my desk in a frenzy, all the while meowing and making a deep gurgle-growl I hadn’t heard her do before. It was so extreme, I stopped and checked to make sure she was ok. (She was more than ok.)
Then the miracle happened: She curled up next to me in bed and promptly dozed off for the night—a truly rare occurrence.
This morning when Calla and I woke up, I connected in and asked her what brought on the heightened zoomies last night. Her answer was one of total gratitude, that she was so thankful for the cooler weather and the breeze coming in through the bedroom window. After a long, outrageously hot summer with AC working overtime, she was thrilled for the natural breeze and fully embodied how amazing it felt to her. It was even cool enough for her to snuggle in bed, which I was super grateful for.
It amazes me how something so simple as gentle air through an open window can prompt a head-over-heels celebration. Feels appropriate for today—September 21st is World Gratitude Day.
Last weekend in a client reading, a cat told me she felt like royalty and had everything she could possibly want. Even the littlest things, that her person would probably consider inconsequential, this cat considered luxuries. It was one of the deepest expressions of gratitude I’d experienced in a reading.
When I adopted my cat Willow and brought her home for the first time, she meticulously sniffed every inch of my tiny studio apartment, then plopped herself down in the middle of the floor, stretched out, and looked up at me with boundless gratitude. This was years before I’d studied intuitive animal communication, but Willow’s message was clear to me—she was thrilled with her new home. And I had actually wondered if she would mind being in a small apartment. Turns out Willow had a great appreciation for a room big enough for a bed, a couch, and a TV…and all the love therein. And that filled my heart.
Animals don’t hold back their gratitude. They embrace it with their whole body and soul and are experts at expressing it openly. I feel like we humans naturally tend to categorize things, like it’s great to be thankful for the small stuff as well as the big gifts in life. But to animals, it’s all equal. A breeze, a couch, and your love are all worthy of the same high-vibration zing of gratitude and joy.
I saw a video the other day that showed a rescue of a baby elephant who fell into a 30-foot well in India. The water level wasn’t high, but she couldn’t climb out and her elephant family couldn’t reach her. The Department of Forest and Wildlife worked for four hours excavating a ramp at the side of the well, which eventually allowed the baby elephant to walk back to her family who had stayed close by the whole time. As the reunited herd began to walk across a river away from the scene, one adult elephant turned back twice, stopping to lift her trunk high in the air toward the rescuers. The crowd who had gathered to witness the rescue cheered in response, their hearts fully receiving her salute of thanks.
The energy of gratitude not only makes us feel good (studies show it helps cardiovascular health, inflammation, depression, and more), but the energy is healing all around, to those who receive it and can’t help but feel it too. As someone who’s had sleep issues all my life, I can tell you I’ve never slept so well as last night, when a grateful, joyful kitty snoozed next to me.
Happy World Gratitude Day to all of you—however you choose to express your zoomies, I salute you with all my heart. 🙏