What do you make of this picture? I can’t remember where I found it online (so if it was from your website, thank you and I hope you don’t mind me using it here). The picture fascinates me for many reasons:

Reason the first: how disciplined must those dogs be?! All of them look ready to pounce on the cat but are holding back. I wish I had that sort of self-control.

Reason the second: how brave is that cat? It seems completely unphased by the horde of onlooking canines. It is happily going about its business regardless of the potential for disaster. How often do I hold back because of fear rather than stepping out in faith?

Reason the third: is it a genuine picture? Did this really happen or has some genius created the picture with the aid of clever software and a diabolical sense of humour? Reasons I am unsure about the genuineness are that the cat is walking through a puddle (or is it a poodle?) and they usually avoid water; and there are no ripples in the puddle. But are there times when I am looking at things the wrong way, or making assumptions that are untrue?

Reason the fourth: every time I look at it I smile. The potential for captions, what happened next or the back story behind the picture is fantastic. Can I be the cause of making other people smile – not because of my failings but because I bring joy to them?

Reason the fifth: sometimes I may be feeling like the cat and sometimes I may be like one of the dogs. In either case the picture reminds me to think of how people feel if they are the dogs or cats in those circumstances.

No joke today, just the picture to enjoy!