On our way to the zoo, we see a cat on the street. We don’t pay much attention. In the zoo, we see a tiger, and are fascinated by it.

We click pictures, post them on social media and give some powerful or interesting captions.

The Tiger

Even on our way back home, we discuss the tiger. How it was sitting like this? Or why it was walking like that? How big its mouth was when yawning. The fact that the tiger was so big and the marks on its body were so beautiful.

Why so many discussions about the tiger? Because of how rare it is to see. Or the fact that it is an extraordinary creature!

The Cat

Do we still remember the cat that we saw on the street? And by any chance would we ever consider to dicuss about the cat? For example how the cat was staring at us? Or the fact how fast it ran when we were going towards it? No.

And Why not? The answer is The cat is nothing extraordinary, it is part of our everyday life. It is ORDINARY!

Choosing between the Cat and the Tiger:

But if we have to choose a pet we will choose the cat over the tiger any day. Aside from the fact that keeping tigers as pets is illegal and against the law. The fact that we chose the cat because it is predictable, controllable and weaker than us.

On the other hand, the tiger is unpredictable uncontrollable and stronger than us. It won’t listen to us, we can’t force it to follow our ways etc. are the reasons.

Underlying meaning:

That’s exactly what life is! When we see a smart, strong and mysterious, person we are fascinated by them. We want to talk to them and spend time with them. But when we realize that we will never be able to control that person we leave them. I bet deep down we knew we would never spend the rest of our lives with that person because the lifestyle with them wouldn’t be stable.

Then we meet an ordinary person whom we can control and don’t give much attention to because the smell of thrill and adventure does not come from them. But if we want to marry or go into a serious long-term relationship we will choose this ordinary person over that mysterious person. Cause the lifestyle will be stable and predictable.

Lesson:

I have seen it happen to me and unfortunately, I have done it to others too. Though now I try to think before jumping into any kind of relationship be it romantic or platonic.

I don’t know how the other person felt and from my personal experience, I can say this is not right. Putting someone on the pedestal when we are in need and then when the need is over throwing them off the pedestal and into the dark hole affects that person a lot.

If we don’t have the decency to put them down gently then we should not put them up in the first place. Other people’s feelings come second, it is our humanity that is in question!

This same theory applies to when we choose our long-term life partner.

The term bad boys can’t only be restricted to men, but women can also be included in this category, bad girls.

An ordinary person with a normal life would be attracted to them because they are the tiger.

Strong, free-spirited, risk-taking behavior, etc. They do what they want without a care for the world.

So any ordinary person who is bound by societal standards would be attracted to them because they can do the things a ordinary person can’t but want to.

On the other hand, an ordinary person is predictable, peaceful, caring, etc. So the ordinary people are the cats.

But if those ordinary people have to take a person to their home to meet the family or simply to go into a long-term relationship with them.

They will choose a fellow ordinary person over a bad one.

Because they don’t want to take any chances with those unpredictable individuals.

In the same way, we chose the cat over the tiger.

The perfect example I can think of is the sitcom Modern Family. Where Claire marries Phil. While Claire is the bad girl and used to hang out with bad boys she chose Phil partly because he got her pregnant, but also because he is a typical nice guy.

If you have watched this sitcom you will know what I am talking about. And if you haven’t you can go and check it out on the google. There are many discussions available online.

Call it double stand, hypocrisy or whatever. This is how the world works now.

And frankly, who could blame it?

It has been proven that these free spirits can’t commit to a long-term future. Their soul and spirit won’t let them.

But my point is, don’t give anyone any false hope!

Make your intentions clear early on. Don’t tell a person something that you won’t be able to do.

If you wanna have a good time or want a long-term committed relationship, make it clear before taking any step together.

This will save both of you a lot of emotional burden and time.

And still, if things go sideways at least your conscience will be clear that you were clear with your intentions from the very beginning.

Thank you for staying until the end!