Day 319: Paying attention

Some people tell me that’s a skill I have: paying attention.

What’s the secret of paying attention?

Curiosity.

There’s a warning about curiosity, I know:

Curiosity killed the cat.

When I look at that saying, right now, this is what I’m thinking:

Curiosity didn’t kill the cat.  Something else did (e.g., another animal, a car, a trap, etc.).

Don’t blame curiosity OR the cat, please!  (See here for why blame is an unhelpful cognitive distortion.)

Time to go to Wikipedia, for more about that saying:

“Curiosity killed the cat” is a proverb used to warn of the dangers of unnecessary investigation or experimentation. A less frequently-seen rejoinder to “curiosity killed the cat” is “but, satisfaction brought it back”.^[1]

The original form of the proverb, now little used, was “Care killed the cat”. In this instance, “care” was defined as “worry” or “sorrow.”

Aha!  Haven’t I been telling you that — all year — about worry, dear readers? (See here, here, here, here, and here for  more about that.)

Question: Is anybody curious about how I’m going to end this post?

Answer: With the image that inspired it.

Thanks to cats and other curious creatures everywhere, and to you, especially, for paying attention today.