Beauty: For the Heart, Not Just the Eyes.

It was a dark and stormy night.

Okay, maybe it wasn't stormy, but it was dark, and it carried over into the morning, especially prevalent as I made my lonely drive to the coffee shop at 5am.

It was during my toasty commute listening to One Direction (such a young one at heart), that I noticed something stirring in the sky.

There in front of me were those famous Alaskan northern lights.

It took my breath away. It was faint in color, just a soft green hue, but it was moving ever so slightly and I just felt so humbled and lucky to have been able to see such a sight so early in the morning, when everyone else lie fast asleep.

So I'm telling a customer about this, right? Sharing my delight at seeing these lights, and the guy kinda shrugs and goes "Eh, I'm over it."

What what what?

I asked him to explain, and he proceeded to tell me that they're just kind of blah after all these years. The color isn't that great, they're faint, and you become used to seeing them. They're just not that beautiful compared to other parts of the state.

I couldn't believe his response. Granted, he was completely entitled to his opinion, but it's interesting how I had a completely different experience than he. 

Which had me thinking: could we imagine that beauty itself doesn't necessarily have to conform to society's idea of perfection? To me, beauty isn't just about looks. It's about how it makes us feel, what sensations are extracted from something that isn't just in what we see.

Beauty to me has always come from within, these unexplainable qualities that aren't necessarily visible to the eye.

Yes, maybe the northern lights weren't as brilliant in color as the lights in the north, but they made me feel something inside: nostalgia, peace, and this impression of awestruck. That made more of an impact on my heart, as opposed to just my eyes.

Imagine how different our perceptions of "beauty" would be if we stopped obsessing with looks and focused instead on how they made us feel?

How many little things would we notice then? What new things would we deem beautiful?

I'm certainly in love with looking at things in a different light.

Or in this case, a different "northern" light.

I hope you can feel my inner joy at all this fresh pow!

Catwoman.

I'm just like her.

I spend my days napping (or thinking about napping).

I whine when I'm hungry.

I purr when someone massages me, or brushes my hair. But just as quickly, I can scratch, and sometimes I bite.

I'm selfish, at times, and I like to groom myself (especially when it comes to clothing).

It may be because I spend nearly all my spare time with said creature, even looking forward to the next time I'll get to see her. It may be because my phone is chalk full of photos of her and I purchase anything resembling her precious little face.

Whatever the reason may be, it's safe to say that I am... a cat lady.

Now I know what you're thinking: you probably imagine I'm some single recluse who lives in her hovel with fifteen cats, disheveled and witchlike, claiming that people who don't like cats are actually the crazy ones.

That is not at all how its like. I know there's this stigma that cat ladies are portrayed as lonely, often hideous loners, but I'm here to tell you that as a catwoman myself, that is not how we should be characterized. 

I may be privy to saying this, as a cat lady myself, but history actually backs me up here.

Cats have been around for quite awhile, dating back some 12,000 years ago, and across various cultures throughout time, they were often associated with being favored and glorified.

In ancient Egypt, they were associated with gods and goddesses, often mummified. In China, they were favored pets and desirous for their hunting abilities. In Japan, they're associated with good luck. Then there were the unfortunate Middle Ages, where they were killed en masse on suspicion of spreading the Black Plague (even though killing them lowered the chances of killing rodents, who were the guilty party in spreading the disease).

Let's not forget their ardent depiction in art and photography. And with that, their association with cat ladies.

There is plenty of proof out there that depict these so-called profiled unkempt cat ladies, as some of the most beautiful, stylish, and accomplished women in history.

From Audrey Hepburn, to Grace Kelly, to Colette, Eartha Kitt, Ursula Andress, and Brigitte Bardot, I'm not making things up when I say that these graceful, curious cats attract equally graceful, curious women.

Cats are not just animals. They are royalty. They are enigmatic creatures who love to be praised and always find themselves the center of attention. They emanate sensuality and dominance and they are one of the best cuddle buddies out there.

Whenever someone dubs me as a "cat lady" (which is more often than not), I simply smile and embrace the fact that I share a stage with some of the most celebrated chic cat ladies in the world.

And with that dose of cattitude, I leave you in search of my kitty.

Did I mention that Fudge, my cat, helped me pick this outfit out from a cat-alogue?