I am the sibling sister of Pooni, born in a hollow tree in the mountains. (God doesn’t make only children and I am grateful.) A belated eulogy.
Oh, sausage sister,
you were pit – a – full!
hounded by perceptions –
how deeply you knew
love
is a hard red rubber ball.
In gratitude for soft grey kittens,
with warm caring mothers, kind hearted women
who save us all.
I froget,
But I am reminded.
I am grateful for small green frogs who remind me.
We all transform over time.
I am grateful for bugs and butterflies.
Vines eaten, leaves are fringe – I wonder where the Caterpillar is!
Gone, Grown, from the Chrysalis has flown.
Oh favorite toy of spaniel dog, hidden in the night,
Today, even the cat can’t catch you in flight – 
filling my garden with delight,
butterfly metaphors burst forth from the flowers for hours and hours. and I am grateful.
I am grateful for my Annie
who snores so sweetly.
I am grateful for my husband
who sleeps so lightly,
that he wakes up when she stops snoring,
and takes her out in the night to pee.
Every day I am grateful to the Grace of my Fellow Beings.
This month, as a challenge to myself, I am going to be grateful out-loud! I may be a day late and a dollar short, but somehow, I know they forgive me. continuously. for being late. with supper, with a walk, with a thank you.
I am grateful for the continued blessing of Annie, my retired canine partner. Her sweetness and grace remind me continuously of the preciousness of all relationships.
Anyone else up for the challenge? Please join me, in a practice of gratitude.
This season, two holy calenders collide. I share my life with three elders, (one human and two canine,) two beings of middle age ( one human one feline) and two adolescents, ( One human, one canine). We bear our crosses and Angels of Death visit us and on some days, pass over a bit closer than we are usually aware of. Eventually, all our bodies will all go with that angel.
So is today really so different from other days? Other species seem to know this, so of calenders they have no need. They seem to understand the nature of the now, but do they really? Perhaps they simply need no such understanding. For them the present moment and freedom collide transparently. Struggle is clear and suffering is never hidden – we simply fail to observe it. Happiness is likewise not hidden and joy is exuberantly expressed. We need reminders, we need calenders. We need to observe.
Today was a day in the middle. A day of rest, a day of pondering. A day to observe.
For if we can observe the suffering, we can help alleviate it. For much of the struggle and suffering is from our own minds and hands. We tend to avoid learning what hurts them – (whichever ‘them’ you choose,) we fail to see what causes them to suffer. Perhaps because we are scared of it, maybe because it hurts us too much. We are compassionate by nature.
We hide our struggle and our suffering from each other, and often from ourselves. Sometimes we wallow in it – holding on to it to keep us from risking love and divine possibilities. Today, this season, this moment on the calender of our lives, let us consider taking our teachings from our fellow furred companions. Today risk observing. Risk for freedom. Release the suffering, share the care and see beyond it. Feel the love.
We have a rooster in our neighborhood.
He calls us to wake up.
Beloved, I am here.
Jesus and the Dead Dog
A parable. (Don’t worry, Sister, the Labrador, is just acting!)
This is an old story told, retold, written and spoken for centuries in the Middle East. It is a true story, as all parables are, although they are rarely factual. For in fact, for a parable to be truthful, its facts must be heard by the heart and not with the literal mind.
This is a story about the good, the true and the beautiful.
Like all parables, this one can have many meanings, fertilizing many actions. This one has been told and retold for generations. Listen to this story, play with this story and tell this story and find where it leads you.
Jesus and his disciples were walking, down a street in Jerusalem, or perhaps it was a field near Nazareth, or perhaps it was just down the road from you. Anywhere, they came across the remains of a very dead dog. “Oh, GOD,” exclaimed one of them, not realizing what he said as he covered his nose & mouth with his robe, “This stench is disgusting!” Another gathered her robes up around her knees and ran as fast as she could away from the decaying carcass, stifling small gasps. A third was quite fearful and tiptoed away, urging the rest to do likewise, and so they did.
And as they were all leaving, Jesus, who had not moved, stepped closer. Even as the others were gaining greater distance, Jesus bent closer.
“What beautiful teeth you have,” he said. “They are as bright as pearls. “
Please know that we are all beloved, at all times. You are authentic, you are true, you are beautiful and you are good – may you smile and know that your teeth are more beautiful than pearls to all who see the corners of your eyes lifted in love.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/omid-safi/jesus-and-the-dead-dog_b_1265657.html?ref=religion
http://www.themorgan.org/collections/works/islamic/manuscript.asp?page=97
and play the jigsaw, puzzle out the story at:
http://www.themorgan.org/collections/works/islamic/manuscript.asp?page=97
If you light a light tonight,
remember that when the sun goes down, it still shines on your family in other places.
If you like a light tonight,
remember the light of the candle is no less bright then the love in your eyes.
If you light a light tonight,
shine it everywhere you look.
remember, every night is a sabbath to your cat. May we learn from that.
and perhaps light a candle tonight.
