This month did mark a turning point in my life and I realised that I could no longer procrastinate; I had to move on a long time ago and leave my comfort zone behind. But old habits died hard and I kept secret hopes that things might change for the better. It had been quite draining emotionally as the inner conflicts kept battling quietly in the background. After the last full moon, something did shift for me; I felt lighter and more space in my mind.
The train journey has slowly grown on me so it has become my monthly routine with a sense of relief from the worldly burden. Being close to nature and my orange cats have become another dimension of reality to me. There are still lots of repair work to be done but these could wait until I could secure more fund. Only the essential or urgent work would be dealt with as soon as practicable. Overall, I am still counting my blessings as my wealthy neighbours have to deal with serious health issues and people around this area seem to be suffering from strange illnesses.
So, good health, mentally and physically, has become my top priority these days. I have begun to pay more attention to my cats’ health; I would inspect them for any sign of injury or illness.They seem to have two sides to their character. On the one hand, they are very loving and timid. The other time, they became like a wild hunter in the garden. During day time they would just behave like homely cats. They would have their breakfast and and walk around the garden for an hour before going to sleep for most of the day. In the evening after their dinner, we would be playing together around the yard and garden. They would sit in the front yard looking out towards the gate for a few hours.
I did ask them to look after the house for me; that’s probably why they acted like security guards. They also watched out for me while I did my walking meditation during the night. I liked to be quietly reflective in the dark night as there were many stars shining against the deep velvet sky. On moonlit night, the garden became so bright that I could read a book in moonlight. These cats seemed to like my Pali chanting in the night; the resonance was quite calming and soothing for cat. They would run to be physically close to me whenever I started to do compassion sharing around the world. They did partake on my spiritual practice towards enlightenment; I hoped this would enable them to be reincarnated as human beings in their next lives.
One day, the phone rang and I was in a panic to answer the phone as I thought it could mean something urgent. By the time I finished answering the phone, I found two orange cars sitting just behind me. They were deep in their sleep on the cat table but once they could sense I was in distressed, they woke up and came to be by my sides. I could hardly believe the sensitivity of these cats! I thanked them and told them I was really alright. So, I brought them back to their beds to continue with their afternoon nap.
These cats always knew whenever I felt low or listless; they would come to sleep under my chair just to give me their moral support. During playful time, they would participate in my strange antics of chasing them around the garden. They weren’t afraid of me at all; they knew I needed my exercise too. If they couldn’t escape my catch; they would just surrender as a curling cat on the ground. I would pick them up and put them on a big rock where they liked to do their grooming. Orange cats showed complete trust in me and they would never get angry with me when I accidentally stepped on them. So, I am very grateful to these wonderful gifts of orange companions who demanded so little from me. I hope that I could look after them as best as I could for a long, long time.
Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.
Stay strong and cheerful.