Paralysis #675
In Search of a Wisewoman
Paralysis, from the Greek word ‘para’ - beside, amiss + lyein = paralyein - to disable, loosen or untie, meaning a loosening of strength or disabling of the nerves to the Latin ‘paralysis which entered the English medical and general usage in the 1500’s as a complete or partial loss of function especially when involving the motion or sensation of the body; the loss of the ability to move; a state of powerlessness or incapacity to act.
Cats are creatures many adore. The Egyptians worshipped them! These clever creatures were despised until the bubonic plague when the connections were made between the rodents in the graneries carrying the fleas that sickened and killed swaths of population. Kitty earned a place at the hearth, a dish of milk, and a devotion long past those gruesome years. Cats, no matter how doted on, can revert to feral faster than any domesticated species. Sir, is no exception. He has a standard of living that surpasses most of the people on the planet but he still hunts. I witnessed him menacing a mouse just prior to dispatching it. The mouse trembled in fear, totally paralysed and unable to act.
We are horrified when an accident or a medical crisis renders one paralysed. Spinal nerves severed still defeat medical science, but how many times are people paralysed by their own inability to move out of the situation that is untenable? We have so many tools at our disposal to defend ourselves to act against the horrific, to rise against tyranny. Sometimes it is just leaving or rebuilding, in exercising our franchise or our autonomy, in not accepting what is dreadful, in not trembling in uselessness or turning a blind eye. That form of paralysis is deadly.
Fear of discomfort can be the most paralyzing of all, next to fear of fear itself!
"Not my problem" is a form of paralysis until the problem hits home. Too many problems to solve also produces paralysis. Survival requires choosing battles worth fighting for.
Dearly departed Bruce got tired of killing mice in the house. A job that was part of my decision to rescue him. He preferred to be outside to challenge other cats who wanted to roam his outside domain. I thought his wounds were the result of being attacked until I wittnessed who was doing the attacking. Just a cat story I wantes to share about my Bruce, "the Boss."