It’s day four after the vicious dog attack that left our precious Japanese bobtail Roxie dead. The sanitation department asked us to put her body in a trash bag or box beside the trash can last Friday. We did so before the vicious storms that attacked the D.C. area. But today- day four after her death – Roxie’s remains remain in the back alley behind the yard. Sunday I arrived home from a family trip I took the day of Roxie’s demise to find Jean Claude calling for Roxie, looking under the bed, running to the basement to announce my arrival from the trip. He hollered most of the night. It had been suggested I take Jean Claude to the bag with her remains and let him know that she has moved on- but some said not to do so because it would make him sad and protective of her space. Calls to the sanitation department so far have not resulted in no action. I realize the storm clean up is taking up a lot of time but hopefully the matter will be resolved today. Tomorrow is a holiday and I’m certain Roxie would like everyone to have a good time.
Category Archives: Spirituality
Slugs and Validation
- Roxie
As I was tending my garden I realized that I would soon need to start treating it for slugs. Slugs are bottom feeders who not only feed on scraps but sometimes suck the life right out of beautiful plants and flowers. There are people like those worms. They practice “leveling” as a contact sport. The common term for them is “playa haters.” Such people use weaponry of harmful words, ‘accidental forgetting,” glances, snickers, misdirection and direct insult to level the playing field. They are “jealous spirits” – some with no hope of recovery. Like many folk, I have on occasion, sought validation from these types, who depending on their own sense of self at the moment, might parcel out faint praise or at least be nice to me. Now as I enter an age of enlightenment and self-worth I chose, when I can, to be around people who like themselves and like me genuinely. Choosing one’s audience is important. Still it’s not the only course of action against slugs. Prayer and wishing your enemy the best are good tactics to take out the sting of cruel or lying words or misdeeds. As misery likes company sometimes you have to stay away from whole groups and institutions. Some places such as one’s job are filled with people who have no purpose or sense of self. There you can just “grin and bear it” – a trick I learned from my late father who simply would smile at people spoutting nonsense or exhibiting petty cruelty. So next time try a simple smile and/ or even compassion for your “playa hating” enemy or frenemy – the unfortunate behavior won’t stop but you’ll be able to deal with the situation with grace and gain instant peace of mind. Playa haters’ jealousy or envy can only bring you down if you let it. Take a page from Roxie and Jean Claude. Some would say Roxie is more possessed than self-possessed but then she doesn’t give a juggernaut what is said about her.
Time Passing
I paid a visit to Roxie and Jean Claude today. Last night during a cocktail party at CCL’s house JC came out to greet me, Roxie stayed hidden. Today she came out for a brief spell, let me pet her and then dissappeared into CCL’s bedroom where she rested comfortably on the middle of the bed. Clearly, she has adjusted to her new/old space and it was time. It’s funny about some things in our lives, people come and go. If we are lucky we have people (and animals and a couple of pairs of jeans) that grow with us. Change is inevitable – as is the passing of time. Sometimes one lingers in a spot for a long time, it’s comfortable or it feels like if we give the situation more time there might be some magical transformation. Eventually reality and acceptance steps in. We have waited and it is still the same old, same ole but we have grown and expanded emotionally, mentally and spiritually – and the situation just doesn’t fit. It’s time for new adventures.
Female Empowerment
There is a lot of controversy in the American political arena about women, our bodies, our health. Some say that those trying to implement restrictions are merely trying to change the debate to subjugate women and reduce our societal roles. They have declared war on women and womenhood. Women are life-givers, caretakers and these days, leaders, champions and anything we dern well please. As women our anatomy is unique to our personhood. It sometimes dictates our moods and our habits but it is not a hindrance to our ability to lead, to encourage and to thrive. Still there are those would like to turn the clock back, reducing or restricting our reproductive rights. They sent up trial balloons on the airwaves and in certain state legislatures. Women, wise as we are, are fighting back and speaking up. We are joined by enlightened men who are standing up for our rights as well. Yes, it is a mistake to underestimate the power of the female. Even in the cat world that is true. Roxie, the female Japanese bobtail, is fierce, often refusing to share the feeder with Jean Claude, the much larger male black Bombay. Regularly little Roxie beats Jean Claude at play – she kicks his butt frankly. Still she relies on him to protect her interests and to bring her comfort. There is balance and unity and sometimes peace.
Who You Are
It’s never too late to be who you might have been. – George Eliot, English novelist (1819 – 1880)
This quote was left for me on a turn-down service provided by a hotel. It got me thinking about who you are supposed to be and who you are.
For example. When we got the cats, they were kittens. When I picked Roxie from the shelter, she was always spastic and crazy. When I picked her up she immediately started playing with my earrings and she had poop on her tail (a hazard of the otherwise really cute Bob tails). And today. She still loves to bel picked up, she still goes crazy for toys and she still occasionally gets poop in her tail She has always had the same personality and always knew who she was.
Jean-Claude, however, was another story. His name from the shelter was Tiny because they thought he was the runt of the litter. As a matter of fact, Jean-Claude and Roxie weighed almost the same amount. However, within one month Jean-Claude went from four pounds to six pounds. He increased his body weight by 50% in a month! However, the vet wasn’t concerned as Jean-Claude was also growing. So the shelter had it wrong. Jean-Claude, who has settled into a 15 pound solid cat very large cat with his super long tail, wasn’t the runt of the litter. He merely had to move himself to the right conditions to succeed and become the cat he always was. Those conditions of success for him being the love and support of three crazy women (Roxie included).
I was a mix. I’ve always had my own beat and been different, but didn’t really accept or embrace it until later.
What conditions do you need to become who you want to be? We all need love and support. One of the hardest things to do in life is to cut out people who are not adding anything to our lives. Maybe they aren’t detracting from our life, but if they aren’t adding anything, do we need them to just take up the space? The older I get, the more I realize that I have such wonderful, positive people in my corner. People I love and people who love me without condition.
Who do you want to become? Are you living the life you imagined? Are you fulfilling your purpose in life? While these are questions that we see all the time, you can never remind yourself of these lessons in life enough.
Cats & All That ™ 