This not meant to hurt or offend, so take what you like and leave the rest.

Blaze

It's a Beautiful Lazy Sunday morning.  After years and years of non-stop church-going, it is pleasant to just sit and be on a Sunday morning.  To feel the breezes, to hear the birds, to watch the feral cats sunning themselves after a full meal,  ah, Heaven.

I feed feral cats.  I didn't plan it, but it is truly against my religion and ethics to let someone suffer needlessly.  It is not the cat's fault that humans could not be responsible enough to have them or their parents neutered.   So far, over one third of these ferals are neutered or spayed.  The rest will be done as they can be caught.  In all, there are feral 14 cats, not counting the 3 house cats  (and 4 dogs) that also live here.

One cat in particular has my heart.  Her name is Blaze, because of the white Blaze of fur down her nose.  She is a lovely tuxedo cat with a white bib and stockings.  She first appeared on my front yard at the ripe old age of 3 months, along with three siblings.  They all have the same markings (tuxedo), but Blaze is black while the others are solid gray.  They are all semi-friendly.  They trust me to get very close to them, but not actually touch them.

Blaze is very personable.  She often calls to me to come out and sit on the steps.  She doesn't want food, she just wants company.  She likes it when I talk to her and she talks back.  I often imagine what she would have been like had she come inside when she was little.  She surely would have been a lap cat, involved in everything that was going on.  Her sisters and brother would have been on the bed, sleeping with us, but not quite as cuddly.

So what is it that makes one animal reach our hearts when others, just as lovable, do not make the same connection?    Once in a while, a dog or a cat, (or a rat or a bird) seems to look directly into our eyes and see who we are.  When that happens, if both parties are open, a connection can be made.  

I have seen people who ride horses, but the horse is merely a means to an end.  Then I have seen other people who seems one with their animals, who connect on a very fundamental and personal level.    That connection that some animals make, well, we humans can make those connections too.  We too, can look into the eyes of others, both human and non-human animals, and make our own connections.

I often wonder why there do not seem to be any classes or teachings on this?  It seems so fundamental, to look into the eyes of others, to make that connection.  Why do we not teach this in our schools, in our temples, in our homes?

We are all connected. We all live on this planet and share its resources.  It is we who choose what sort of place we live in.  Whether it is a place of lack and loneliness, or a place of abundance and connections, we decide.  

The more we reach out to others, the more Peace we create.  Peace.  Perhaps that might be the Ultimate Goal for us all.