No. 024 · Comfort, quiet and emotional exhaustion · 2 min read
I Never Thought I’d Find More Comfort in a Cat Than a Human Being
Sometimes the best company is the one that does not ask you to explain the day.
Nina had people who cared about her. Friends who said, “Call me anytime.” Family who checked in. Coworkers who noticed when she was quiet.
The problem was that caring often came with questions.
One bad Thursday, she came home exhausted from pretending she was fine all day. Her phone buzzed with messages asking what happened, whether she was okay, and whether she wanted to talk.
She put the phone face down.
Milo, her gray cat, jumped onto the couch beside her. No questions. No advice. No attempt to solve the day. He simply curled against her and started purring.
“I never thought I’d find more comfort in a cat than a human being,” Nina whispered.
Milo yawned in her face.
Twenty minutes later, she finally felt ready to answer one of the messages.
Nothing had been solved. She had simply been allowed to be quiet first.
Grounding Thought
Sometimes comfort is not someone knowing what to say. Sometimes it is being with someone who does not require you to say anything.