How You Can Be More Contented: Purr More

The moment I put the fluffy cat on my lap, she purrs. Sometimes it doesn’t even require physical touch. When my son walks into the room, her motor turns on loud enough to hear across the room. She adores that boy.

Ahhh, to be so contented and to show it so easily. That would be wonderful.

Why don’t I purr?

Because I have frontal lobes, I suppose.

In case you’re not a neurophysiologist, frontal lobes are the portion of the brain responsible for reasoning and decision making and planning. They’re the parts that ask, “Did you take this detail into account?”

It’s true, cats have frontal lobes also. It’s just that theirs are very small compared to ours.

So they don’t have nagging doubts. They don’t wonder “what-if…”. They don’t have the capacity to stutter, “but… but…”

Contentedness for cats is binary. They either are content or they aren’t.

In fact, this particular cat—poor thing!— is either purring happily or in full-on alert mode because the crazy dog has entered the room. (Or she’s asleep. Cats are good at sleeping.)

But it makes me wonder…

  • Do I purr when a loved one walks in the room ?
  • Or when I’m eating a delicious meal?
  • Or when a sunbeam hits the couch?

Sometimes.

But often my frontal lobes get in the way.

This is pleasant, my purr-center tells me. “But…” my frontal lobes interject, “I have so much work waiting for me.”

Look who it is! I start to purr. “But what if they don’t like me,” says my brain.

Frontal lobes are very important. They’re what give us some of our most human qualities. And they help us inhibit behaviors we know aren’t good for us.

Cats don’t stop to think that eating a whole loaf of bread will increase their muffin tops, for instance.

Although, I suppose if you don’t wear pants, you don’t technically have a muffin top. Hmmm… Nope, keep your pants on!

Frontal lobes also ensure that we don’t walk around without pants.

So, I wouldn’t want to live without my frontal lobes.

But some days it would be good to turn down their volume a bit.

Today I’m going to tend the garden of my soul by trying to purr more and listen to my frontal lobes a little bit less.

Except for that inhibition thing. Too much bread really will go straight to my spongy tummy.

Ooh, look! A sunbeam!

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Hi, I’m Kendra

I help bright, successful over-thinkers change their negative thoughts using Scripture and the science of how God made you.

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