Our girl cat is currently in heat. The yowling is incessant. Poor thing. In her the biological imperative to procreate takes over all her mental function, and 100% of her energy.

She’s also on the calendar to be spayed as soon as this round of estrus is over.

As a human, I too was ambivalent about parenting. I never felt the urge, nor cared about the societal pressure.

Then one day the spirit of a child spoke to me, and asked me to become mother. This sounds weird AF, but it happened. No lie.

I’ve now got 2 kiddos. Aged 11 & 8. It’s hard and it’s rewarding. As a mom, your boobs never fully mature until you have kids and start lactating.

It feels the same with the soul. I never fully grasped the concept of service to the whole of humanity until I had kiddos to raise.

You certainly don’t have to have kids. Just like you don’t have to reach for the $500K or $1mil level on the game show when you’ve locked in a guaranteed $250K.

But the potential risk/reward goes up if you take the chance. It all depends on how much you want to reach for the next level.

Don’t let anyone shame you into having kids. I have an aunt and uncle who never had kids, lived that free life; and don’t seem to regret a thing. They’ve helped to make other children - like me - their legacy.

There are many ways. The true path is to follow your heart.