If I could give my 5-year-old cat, Tiger, one of those yearbook superlatives (like, Most Likely to… Be Famous, Cure a Disease, Set a World Record), hers would be...

🙌🏽 Most Likely to Not Care What Anyone Thinks 🏆

Granted, most cats don’t really care what others think. They don’t get self-conscious, the way we humans do. Somewhere in there is a lesson about how to unmask & be authentically yourself.

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First, let me tell you about my orange cat.

When Tiger is uncomfortable, she does whatever it takes to get her needs met. She’ll yell-meow at me to fill her 3/4-full food bowl, rubbing her body against the bag of kibble until I oblige.

She’ll lie down on the most comfortable surface she can find, even if it is the notebook that I am writing on at that very moment.

Tiger’s comedic timing is impeccable. Once, she got startled by her shadow (or maybe a ghost?), and then streaked across the room, knocking over boxes and leaving a trail of flying cardboard in her wake. One minute later, I found her sprawled on the bed, casually licking her toe beans and pretending that nothing had happened.

I admire her unabashed, IDGAF approach to life.

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Being around non-human beings can make it easier to unmask.

For instance, Tiger’s top priority is to find the most comfortable seat in the room — not to make everyone else comfortable while she suffers on a sub-par cushion. It’s a reminder for me to take my own comfort seriously as well.

Do you feel what I’m saying?

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Again, this is not just a story about my orange cat. It’s a story about our relationships with non-human beings — and how they can be just as meaningful, deep, and healing as human-to-human relationships.

If you’ve ever loved an animal — a cat, dog, horse, pig, the squirrel outside your window — you know what I mean.

If you’ve ever sat with a tree, talked to your houseplants while watering them, or worked with a plant medicine & genuinely connected with their presence — we are speaking the same language here.

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This is not to say that relationships with animals, plants, & fungi are meant to replace human-to-human relationships. I’d rather process current events with a fellow iPhone-scrolling human, for example, rather than bounce off ideas with the chihuahua next door.

But also: human-to-human relationships will never replace our relationships with non-human beings.

When you’re with a puppy, do you worry about them judging you? I doubt it.

When birds fly over you, do you think, “I hope they don’t think my outfit is weird”? Probably not.

There something precious about sharing space with non-human beings (when we feel safe to be with them). The opportunity for non-verbal connection. The presence of a nervous system that’s here with you — not judging, just being. The total lack of pressure to keep up a “normal” conversation.

Non-human beings don’t care about being “socially acceptable,” the way we humans do. They simply exist — unmasked, unapologetically present.

Our relationships with all beings, all the life around us, remind us that the human way is not the only way.

Spend enough time with a cat, dog, the tree in your backyard, or the cup of herbal tea in your hands — and they’ll teach us to care less about the things that don’t matter, and connect with what does matter.

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Talk soon,

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👉🏽 If this topic resonates with you, you might enjoy this blog post: For Late-Diagnosed Autistic Adults: How to Unmask after a Lifetime of Masking​

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P.S. If you're overwhelmed & burnt out, but too busy for weekly therapy, I'd love to support you. I offer ​Nervous System Healing Intensives​ — three 90-minute sessions, using brain-body modalities (Brainspotting, IFS, EMDR) that go deeper than talk therapy & help you feel better, sooner.

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Intensives are a type of short-term, accelerated therapy — for folks who are looking for something different than weekly therapy; who need longer than 50-min sessions to go deep & get to the root of the issue.

👉🏽 If you want to get an Intensive on the books, click here to book an intro call. I have a couple spots available for December 2025.

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