We Are All Cats, Aren’t We?
We are all cats.
You know what I mean?
Perhaps not, if you were quarantined from social media last week and missed the video of the lawyer in Texas who joined a virtual court hearing via Zoom using a kitten filter. The lawyer couldn’t figure out how to turn off the filter, the judge tried to help, and hilarity ensued. The lasting punchline was the lawyer trying to reassure everyone by saying, “I am not a cat.”
Here’s a link to the video in case you missed it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGOofzZOyl8
In our increasingly digital age, we’re only one click away from Internet infamy. It’s not like we’re making more mistakes as a species. They just have a greater chance of being captured and amplified. In this sense, the most remarkable thing about the video is how unremarkable it is.
We are all cats. We all make mistakes that would be great fodder for Internet memes. Fortunately, most of our mistakes aren’t live-streamed and tweeted out by a judge. Hence, we’ve never experienced 15 minutes—or in the case of the kitten lawyer, a week’s worth—of international fame for our foibles.
I could have easily been the “cat” during my years practicing law. I took myself way too seriously as a young lawyer. It didn’t take long before I made a bunch of mistakes and was brought back to earth.
I once wore two different shoes to court.
I talked about a case in an elevator when I shouldn’t have.
I drafted pleadings with obvious typos I didn’t notice until the moment after I hit submit.
I had one too many drinks at more than one firm function.
I made jokes I wished I could take back.
I showed up at an all-office, suit-and-tie dinner in business casual attire.
And I’ve made a bunch more mistakes in the years since.
And yet everything has turned out fine. There were times when I wished I could take back the mistakes. But I’ve come to realize that my mistakes are integral to who I am. They were the building blocks of my experience. They led me being who I am and where I am today. And I wouldn’t trade that for anything.
During these difficult days of the pandemic we should give ourselves more grace for the mistakes that we make.
Most mistakes aren't fatal. They don't define us. Sometimes, as we learned last week, they have delightful, unintended consequences.
No one wants to be a cat. But we all are. Nobody's purr-fect. (Sorry, I couldn't help myself).
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Painting above by Heather Harrington
Titled: I’m Not a Cat! | Acrylic on Stretched Mini Canvas
This painting has been sold but Heather is painting a limited number of additional originals.
