The "Cat" and the "Dog" energies of social interaction
Posted: Thursday, November 29, 2007
by Katherine Bouglai
Coaching For Singles.
When
you meet someone new that you find yourself attracted to, do you go after them
or do you get shy and avoid them until you're ready to talk to them? Read about the two opposite energy types
people have and discover what works best for you.
A young and attractive woman walks into the Starbucks to get
a quick drink before her lunch meeting.
As she pays for her drink and walks towards the exit, holding her cup of
late, a young gentleman follows her. He takes a few moments to introduce
himself and throws a compliment her way.
The girl smiles, but she feels uncomfortable by his boldness, she
doesn't want to be rude so she thanks him politely. She increases her pace, hoping that he gets
the hint that she might be in a hurry and won't bother her further. The guy continues with his pursuit by asking
for her phone number. At this point the
girl brushes him off and quickly walks away.
Does this scenario sound familiar? Whom do you sympathize
more, the guy or the girl? Who do you
think made a mistake? How would you
behave in a similar situation? What went wrong? The truth is that there is no
right answer to all these questions. The
two people described above may not necessarily be wrong for each other and
could potentially even be great together if they met under different
circumstances. What really happened was
that their energies didn't match. She had
"cat energy" and he had "dog energy" and we all know what happens when dogs
meet cats -- they chase them!
If you ever owned a dog, perhaps you already know how dogs
behave when you take them out for a walk every time they see another dog
walking by. They stop, their attention
turns towards the new dog, their ears perk and sometimes they just run for it. That other dog is very fascinating to them
and they are extremely eager to meet them.
Now, what happens when a guest comes to a home that has dogs? The dog gets excited, wags its tail, and
sometimes even jumps on people. There is
nothing wrong with that, it's just the way dogs are. Whenever they sense a new energy in the room,
they want to find out about it as soon as possible. When they get used to the new energy, they calm
down.
What about cats? As a
cat owner myself, I can tell you that cats are completely opposite. They do not feel comfortable with the new
energy. They need their time and space
to get used to it, and until they do, they will sit quietly under the couch and
intensely stare at the new person who just walked in. When they are ready to get to know you, they
will come out and be friendly. Again,
there is nothing wrong with being a cat.
It's just who they are. They get
very overwhelmed with new smells, new environments and they do not feel
comfortable with unfamiliar energy. That
doesn't mean cats are not curious about new people. Cats are very curious animals and they love
our company. They just need more time to
get to know us.
Now, having said that, can cats and dogs potentially
live in harmony? Of course they can, if
they learn and respect each other's boundaries.
It may not be realistic to explain this to a cat or a dog, but it might
be a helpful analogy for humans. Why is
it so important to know about this? Because this makes us more aware of our
instincts, fears and desires, as well as the fact that somebody else may very
well be completely different from us in that sense. This awareness can help us a great deal when
we interact with one another for the first time. Keeping the two energy types in mind, being
mindful to ourselves and others, how easier could it be for us to approach
someone we're attracted to and not take it personally when others are being too
shy to talk to us? Most importantly,
whichever energy you think you might have, there is nothing wrong with it. Not all men have the "dog energy" and not all
women have the "cat energy." Also, it is
very common for our energy to change depending on where we are and who we meet.