Whenever I think of my little one Tom, I always think of him being fearful of everything. When the story begins, he is scared of the wide-open spaces of Edinburgh, the sky above him and the grass beneath his paws. Tom can’t visualise the opportunities and adventures that lie in his future, he only imagines the things that can go wrong, the homelessness, poverty, hunger, despair.
It is through the love of his friends that Tom slowly begins to see that the world and the felines in it aren’t as scary as he first thought. And Tom doesn’t realise that with every paw step he takes through his fear, even though he may have sweaty paws and a pounding heart, he becomes braver, stronger and more like the warrior he truly is. The fear is still there, it always will be, but the love that Tom has in his heart, for Meissa, Felix, Zachariah and all his other friends, gives him the strength to walk towards his fear and confront whatever it holds, including Sophia and her clan.
And that’s the thing about fear. It can’t co-exist with love. You either live in love or live in fear. Love can make you do crazy, wild things in its name, but when you have love in your heart there is no space for fear to creep in. When fear is in charge you are unable to see the beauty and love that surrounds everyone, everywhere. The sky is less blue, the grass less green, and ginger kittens seem smaller and less powerful. But on a day when you have love in your heart everything sings. Even if the sky is thundery with rolling black clouds its dramatic, wild and powerful. The grass tickles your bare feet, and you notice the flowers and insects that make it their home. And ginger kittens become lions in their back yard, kings of all they survey.
What does this all mean for those of us without fur and whiskers and tails? It means take each moment as it comes and when you feel fearful take a deep breath and recognise the beauty within this world. Know that there are billions of people feeling just as scared and worried as you are right at that moment. And then feel the love of the people and cats you know and use their power to help you walk through your fear, because you know you can do this.
You are much more of a warrior than you think.
V.S.MINOU 