I huddled over the garbage of my so-called artistic efforts. The brushes were stiff with dried paint, acrylic tubes bent and crumpled, pastels ground down to dust. It didn’t look like an artist’s corner anymore.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Otis padded in, gave me one long, unimpressed look, and with a casual flick of his paw sent the brushes skittering across the hardwood, leaving streaks of color in their wake.
He didn’t paint: Otis never paints. But he crouched low, eyes fixed, watching the drips slide and pool. It was as if he’d uncovered some grand secret in the mess.
“Otis,” I muttered, reaching to gather the brushes. “Curiosity killed the cat, you know.”
He flicked an ear, the way only a cat does, dripping with disdain.
“Wrong. Curiosity made the artist.”
I locked up. He continued, voice like a professor who’d been waiting for me to catch up.
“Without curiosity, Giotto never traced circles in the dust. Without curiosity, Coltrane would have stopped at scales instead of finding soundscapes. Without curiosity, you’d still be copying instead of creating.”
He turned, tail high, clearly satisfied I’d heard the lesson.
I stared at the streaked floor. The brushes left streaks I hadn’t planned; odd swirls and jagged smudges that almost felt alive, as if they’d slipped past my control to say something of their own. I sat back, unsure whether to laugh or curse, and caught Otis glancing over his shoulder, eyes glinting like he knew more than he should.
“Curiosity is dangerous, yes,” he said. “But only to the average, mundane, and mediocre.”
And just like that, he padded out, waving his tail back and forth mockingly, leaving me staring at the mess on the floor.
Can We Help You?
Where is your curiosity being smothered? By fear, by comfort, or by the voices telling you to play it safe?
Curiosity is what keeps the fire alive. Otis knows it, and so do you. If this hit home, share it with someone who needs the reminder, drop your thoughts in the comments, and subscribe so you don’t want to miss the next lesson from The Feline.
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The Gospel According to Otis is the canonical literary foundation of the Otis Speaks universe.