sitting in my armchair eating breakfast, and my cat just walked in and went to her bowl for her own breakfast. and I fully just saw her grab a bit of feathery toy from her toy box and then turn around and drop it into her bowl before starting to eat
this damn cat really just garnished her bowl of dry cat food with a feather because it wasn't fancy enough for her to eat plain
something messed up about the acknowledgement that even adult animals play (and it's good for them), but play is discouraged of adult humans
part of this, I think, is the idea that if you are playing, you are shirking your responsibilities. and sure, humans can fall into the bad habit of using play as escapism and at the end of the day keeping food on the table/taking care of family, etc. should take priority
but if there's a mental health aspect to play in animals, why do we ignore those benefits for humans?
Turning on Spotify shuffle and the Mystify screen saver to hypnotize toddler brain into focusing on my art instead of clicking mindlessly through websites seeking instant serotonin