Will of the People

For me, petting cats is a potentially meditative act. There are two ways to pet a cat, both of them good (and pleasant for the cat):

• Petting a cat quickly or distractedly, as if they were a dog
• Slowly petting a cat, noticing exactly what they like and trying to maximise that

I think the first act, for the petter, is mostly about the petter's happiness (because petting cats is pleasant). The second act is selfless, and meditative in the sense that if you're doing it correctly most of your higher thought is offline.

I have a small set of other meditative acts that I've collected over the years, which is pretty important for me because my mental landscape is as busy as NYC during rush hour. Meditation works, but I often fall asleep (which is okay!). These meditative acts are all good for different things.

I think I like the second type of cat petting more than regular meditation because I think it helps keep intense kindness a regular part of one's life.