10/02/2025
🐾 𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦
My cat is a character.
Six months ago, Monica Rose showed up at my door after a hard snow. She was cold, hungry, and curious. Now, she’s part of the rhythm of my daily life. She follows me from room to room, “helps” me work at my desk, and purrs so loudly at night that I can hear her through the walls.
But here’s the thing: she’s not a cuddler. She doesn’t like to be held. If she’s unhappy, she’ll bite. She talks constantly until she’s fed or heard. And she’s been known to chew the corner of a good book when I’m not home.
I could focus on all the things she isn’t. I could label her “difficult” or “bad.”
Or… I can understand that she had no mother to model cat behavior, no early nurturing to shape her mannerisms. She came as she was.
So I’ve learned to give her space to be Monica Rose.
Not trying to make her a lap cat. Not forcing affection where it doesn’t belong. Just making room for her to be who she is — and loving her within that space.
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❤️ 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧
This isn’t just about a cat.
It’s about how we treat people — especially the ones closest to us.
In relationships, we often expect our partner to fit into the version we imagined they’d be. We tighten our grip, push for more cuddles, more compliance, more “why can’t you just…?” moments.
But love that thrives allows room. It doesn’t mean we accept harmful behavior — it means we stop trying to mold the other person into our preferred design. We make space for their history, their wiring, their quirks.
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🧍♂️𝗔 𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗘𝗫𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘
I worked with a couple once where the wife loved long, deep conversations at the end of the day. It’s how she connected. Her husband, on the other hand, would come home from work mentally exhausted. He’d retreat to the garage for 30 minutes to decompress before engaging.
She took this personally for years — reading it as rejection. He felt smothered — as if he couldn’t be himself.
When she began to allow space for his unwinding ritual — without judgment, without chasing — something shifted. He started coming inside sooner. He was more present. She felt safer.
Why? Because love doesn’t thrive under pressure. It flourishes in space, understanding, and acceptance.
✨ 𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
Where are you trying to mold someone instead of making space for who they are? What would change if you allowed more room — for them, and for yourself?
👉 Stay tuned — this is the first in a short series of reflections inspired by life with Monica Rose 🐾 and the lessons she’s teaching me about love, attachment, and growth.
Daniel Clark - Transformational Coach
Living Life Abundantly
𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗠𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 -
Learning about who you are how to be the person you can be? Relationships fall apart when we focus on the other person and not our own behaviors. Maybe our conversation can spark the change you need https://danielcclarkcoachinghba.com/application
𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛 𝗠𝗬 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗪𝗘𝗕𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥-
This is where I share strategies and a deeper understanding of relationships and how they affect who we are: https://link.danielcclarkcoachinghba.com/sp/29535349b2c
