Misc
In my previous post I wrote about how the way you treat animals gives great insight into how you treat your own life and the lives of others. I also wrote about a homeless cat that I found severely injured and was in need of very expensive surgery to save his life. I’d like to give you a quick update to those who were wondering what’s happening with him.
The animal rescue organization that was helping Oreo; Rescue Ridge, brought the cat to a veterinarian to get surgery to place pins in his badly broken leg. Unfortunately, when they were in operation the vet discovered that it was going to be too hard to repair the broken bone and the risk of future infection was too high so they had to perform an amputation on Oreo instead. It was obviously the last thing the veterinarian wanted to do but I know that this little cat will find a way to live a very long and happy life with three legs. He won’t let this stop him. And I think we should all take something from that and other animals like him.
Again, if you would like to help Oreo and the other animals Rescue Ridge rescues, please visit their Petfinder webpage here: http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/NJ220.html and go towards the middle of the page and click on the first Paypal button. There you can give any amount you can afford. Even the smallest of contributions help! And if you would please leave a note in the “Purpose” section on the donation page that you’re a Lyved reader, that’d be great.
Oreo is going to need a lot of time to rest, but he is still in need of a permanent and loving home. If you live in New Jersey and can provide that, please contact the Rescue Ridge and they’ll send you an application to fill out that will help them decide if you can provide a great home.
I’d like to give a special thanks to Rescue Ridge and all those who helped share the previous article around. I appreciate it!
-Andrew
Final Update:
My family and I have decided to welcome Oreo into our home. He’s now a part of our family 
Thanks for the support!
“Know thyself” – Plato
One of the most elusive aspects of this thing we call “life” is figuring out who we truly are.
You already know that difficult events, failures, road blocks in life, your talents, and your passions have given a great measurement to who you are. However, there is another way for you to discover yourself more, and that is through your treatment of animals.
How you treat animals gives crystal clear insight into how you treat your own life, the lives of those around you, and the lives of complete strangers.
When I was recently visiting my grandmother I saw a neighborhood stray cat in her yard that was severely injured. He was limping, holding up one of his legs that looked broken and he was clearly in pain. I didn’t know how to help him, but I knew something had to be done. So I did a quick search online and found a great rescue organization in my area called Rescue Ridge. I got in touch and explained them the situation. One of their members, Joni, quickly replied and offered to help the cat get to a vet. She didn’t care about the cost of the medical bills or who was going to pay for it; she just wanted to give help to this helpless animal. She provided a cage, so my job was to catch the cat and get him in it for transporting. The cat was pretty friendly with me but I knew this wasn’t going to be easy.
I woke up early the next day, forgot about everything I was doing and went searching for the cat. I found him and attempted to catch him, but he took off and hid. So I waited and waited for hours. Then I went home and came back. Waited another hour. Went home and came back once again. The cat was back and I tried for another hour to catch him by hand or lure him into the cage with food. No luck. I was getting really frustrated by now. I had spent an entire day and thought to myself, “am I crazy wasting all this time trying to catch a stray cat when I could be doing more important things?”
I finally went back the next day and was able to get the hungry cat into the cage to eat after a few more hours of frustration. Once he was in, I quickly shut the door. Joni, the pet rescuer was over to pick up the cat right away. She brought the cat straight over to a vet and it turned out that the cat had basically shattered his knee and the bone was sticking out. Now he needs surgery to fix the broken bone or he may possibly need an amputation. And if doesn’t get either of those, he most likely won’t live very long. The surgery is going to cost about $1,500. So my family, Joni, and Rescue Ridge are going to try to raise donations for the surgery.
Now that I’ve had time to reflect on the question I asked myself about being crazy spending all this time and energy on this animal, I’ve come to the answer of no. I’m not all crazy! I realized that if I didn’t have compassion and patience for an injured and helpless animal then I don’t have true compassion and patience for anything.
If you want a better idea of what your character is then look at how you treat animals and even the environment. And ask yourself whether you show them and it compassion, patience, selflessness, and respect. Ask yourself if you treat them the way you’d like to be treated. And be certain to examine how you treat animals that are often seen as “insignificant” by others.
I’d like to take a quick moment to encourage you to help and to thank Rescue Ridge and their rescuer Joni. She took time off from work to help us with the cat, without looking for anything in return and then was thanking us for helping. She has real passion and a caring heart. Rescue Ridge is a non-profit organization based in New Jersey that takes in dogs, cats, horses, and other animals that other shelters have given up on. Rescue Ridge is these animals last hope. They run entirely by donations and by the work of volunteers. If you would like to help them in any way you can, please visit their Petfinder page here: http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/NJ220.html and click on the first donation button towards the middle of the page under the “Sponsor A Pet” section. And if you could please leave a note under the “purpose” section with your donation that you’re a Lyved reader, we’d greatly appreciate.
If $5 is all you can spare, even that would help immensely. Or if you’d prefer to contribute to an animal organization closer to you, please visit the shelter page at Petfinder.com: http://www.petfinder.com/shelters.html
And finally, if you live in New Jersey and would like to open your heart and home to this very friendly homeless cat please contact the Rescue Ridge or myself and I’ll put you in touch. They’ll send you an application to fill out to see if you’d be a good fit. The cat is almost a year old, black and white (we’re calling him Oreo), he enjoys playing, running around, and would unconditionally love whoever gives him a second chance.
UPDATE:
Please click here to read update on Oreo.
Don’t pursue perfection… pursue betterment
Perfection is boring. When we’re perfect what do we have to work for? Instead of trying to be absolutely perfect, each day pursue being a little better than you were the day before.
Your biggest obstacle/battle is with yourself
The biggest walls that stand in the middle of your roads are created by you. The walls are built from your fears, self-doubt, and other factors.
This may seem like a negativity, but this is encouraging because once you realize this, it will help you jump over, go through, or tear down your walls.
Who would you be if you lost your profession, hobbies, or talents?
For instance, say you were a painter, and one day you tragically became paralyzed. You could no longer hold a brush in your hand or move your arm. How would you define yourself? Would you still be you?
It’s necessary to experience sadness & negativity
The only way to truly enjoy happiness and positivity is to sometimes experience sadness and negative. And really, there’s no way around it, life is going to toss you tough time.
Happiness is beauty
When you are happy, you are beautiful. It doesn’t matter what you look like, the true measure of your beauty is your happiness.
You can look back but don’t try to turn back
The best way to drive down the road of life is too often look in the rearview mirror but not turn the car around. It’s important to reflect on the past but you need to keep moving forward.
To achieve your dreams, you need someone who doesn’t believe in you
Every person who has achieved amazing success has had someone who doesn’t believe in them. Even more likely is that they had numerous people who didn’t believe in them.
So don’t worry that you have naysayers – be concerned when you don’t – use them in a good way to motivate you.
Hi Lyved readers!
I’d just like to ask you a quick question; are there any topics you would like Lyved to tackle in upcoming articles? I’d love the hear what’s on your mind.
Please post a comment below if you’d like to share.
Thank you very much!
On January 1, 2008 I launched Lyved to the world. I really had no idea where this site would lead. Now, 2 years later, I’m amazed at what Lyved has accomplished. Besides reaching hundreds of thousands of people and being mentioned by many popular websites, what is unbelievable is what Lyved’s articles have done for readers.
Through article comments and by email many readers have expressed what Lyved has helped and motivated them to do. Many have found their purpose in life, one woman said that the tips she read helped her find a job, and others have had more positivity enter their lives.
I’m so glad that the thoughts, ideas, and words published on Lyved can do this for you.
I want to thank you very much for those who have been reading from the beginning and those who just started reading today. I appreciate all of you!
Sincerely,
-Andrew
