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Playfulness Awakens Joy
What My Ginger Cat Taught Me About Rediscovering Joy
As children, play comes naturally. We invent games, laugh easily and lose ourselves in the moment without worrying whether we’re being productive. Somewhere along the way, though, many of us stop. Life becomes filled with responsibilities, deadlines and endless to-do lists. We tell ourselves we’ll make time for fun when everything settles down, when the work is done, or when we finally take that long-awaited holiday.
Cats seem to know something we’ve forgotten. They never outgrow play.
This reflection is inspired by Card 33 – Playfulness Awakens Joy from my Wisdom of Cats card deck. Each of the 36 cards explores a gentle life lesson inspired by the quiet wisdom of our feline companions.
Joy Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated
Over the years, I bought Columbo all sorts of cat toys. He enjoyed some of them, but nothing ever seemed to delight him more than a small piece of paper scrunched into a ball.
The moment he heard that familiar crinkling sound, his ears would perk up and his whole body seemed to come alive. I’d throw the paper ball across the room and off he’d race after it.
If I was busy, he’d simply invent his own game. He’d pick the paper ball up in his mouth, walk over to a chair, stand on his back legs with his front paws resting on the seat, then flick his head so the paper ball flew from his mouth and rolled away. Off he’d race after it, ready to begin all over again.
He also loved hiding behind the towel in the bathroom, waiting for me to walk past before reaching out with a playful paw. And then there was sheet-changing day. Every cat owner knows that changing the bed somehow transforms an ordinary household chore into the greatest game ever invented.
Watching Columbo, I often wondered why we humans make joy so complicated. He found it in the simplest things and never seemed to need a reason to enjoy himself.
The Gift of Shared Play
The greatest gift Columbo gave me wasn’t simply watching him play. It was discovering how easily his playfulness awakened my own.
One of our favourite games was hide-and-seek. Columbo would race through the house, inviting me to chase him before disappearing around a corner to wait for me. The moment I found him, we’d reverse roles. I’d turn and run, searching for the perfect hiding place before he came looking for me. He was always faster, and he was definitely better at finding me. Then he’d race off again, inviting me to chase him once more, and the whole game would begin all over again.
There were days when I came home tired, with plenty of things still to do. Sometimes I’d begin playing simply because I knew how much it meant to him and to the bond we shared. Before long, though, I’d find myself laughing. Without even noticing, what had begun as something I was doing for Columbo had quietly become a gift for me as well.
That was one of the beautiful lessons he taught me. We don’t always have to wait until we feel joyful before we play. Sometimes we choose to play first, and joy quietly follows.
Play Brings Us Closer
Those games weren’t simply fun. They strengthened the bond between us.
Looking back, I don’t remember every paper ball or every hiding place. What I remember is how those moments made me feel. They filled our home with lightness and became some of my happiest memories with Columbo.
In a world where so many people feel disconnected, perhaps playfulness is more important than we realise. Shared play creates shared joy, and shared joy has a wonderful way of bringing hearts closer together.
Whether it’s playing with your cat, kicking a ball with your children, laughing with a friend or dancing around the kitchen with someone you love, those moments remind us that relationships aren’t built only through conversation. They also grow through laughter, lightness and simply enjoying one another’s company.
An Invitation
If you share your home with a cat, accept their next invitation to play.
Put your phone down.
Scrunch up a piece of paper.
Throw their favourite toy.
Let them lead the game.
You may discover, as I did with Columbo, that what begins as a gift for them quietly becomes a gift for you too
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Reflection
Has life become a little too serious lately?
Instead of waiting for the perfect time, what small act of playfulness could you invite into your day this week?
If this reflection resonated with you, it is inspired by Card 33 – Playfulness Awakens Joy from the Wisdom of Cats card deck. Each of the 36 beautifully illustrated cards offers a gentle invitation to pause, reflect and rediscover the quiet wisdom our feline companions have to share.
If you’d like to explore the complete collection, you can find the Wisdom of Cats card deck here:
