It was several days before today...

when the sun was shining bountifully.
Today is unsunny and it is raining bountifully.  It was relatively wet the day before and probably so tomorrow too.

I was reading about Einstein's cat who would become melancholic when it rained several days in a row.  I try to stimulate the cat boys both mentally and physically in order to make sure that they don't suffer from depression.

This morning they ran out in the rain like brave little rain cats and galloped around.  Then they came home wet and dirty, mud all over their little paws. They were very proud to be the only rain cats in the neighborhood.

A few days earlier MrSweetPants decided to test his brother MrPuffyPants, to see how prepared he was for the unexpected.  He sneaked into the neighbor's patio yard and peeked through the drain hole, first from afar

and then closer.

MrPuffyPants was walking in his own world, unmindful

when he felt Augustus' gaze on his paws through the hole.   He stopped

and looked

and reached in.

MrPuffyPants passed the test.
I was reminded of this quote by Louis Pasteur, which I did not share with them because there was no need to.

"Where observation is concerned, chance favors only the prepared mind."

Little cat boys then went about their business and blew kisses your way while walking away.

They make a lovely pair of scientists in our opinion.

Wishing all a delightful weekend! Ciao everyone!

The backyard of contentment...

We were away for a few short days...mostly in motion, just like molecules, while the cat boys chose to stay at home, uninterested in the trials of journeying amongst the masses.  Our return was interesting, Augustus meow-yelled at us and Ollie expressed discontent with the arrangement.

The only solution was to take them to the backyard of contentment, which we did.
They walked with MrLittleJeans to the backyard where they told him of their woes, first MrSweetPants

and then MrPuffyPants.  After some time spent listening to their respective cases, giving them treats, rubs and catnip, they seemed more relaxed.

MrSweetPants chose the customer service window for silent relaxation, a place to forget

and think of beautiful things.

MrPuffyPants whose dormant naughtiness was starting to wake up was on his way to break the silence

when he encountered the penetrating gaze of Augustus.

He too chose to sit and

think of beautiful things too.

I shared with them this:

"And the wayfarer, after traversing the high planes of this supernal journey, entereth the Valley of Contentment.  In this Valley he feeleth the winds of divine contentment  blowing from the plane of the spirit.  He burneth away the veils of want, and with inward and outward eye, perceiveth within and without all things the day of: "God will compensate each one out of His abundance."  From sorrow he turneth to bliss, from anguish to joy.  His grief and mourning yield to delight and rapture.

Although to outward view, the wayfarers in this Valley may dwell upon the dust, yet inwardly they are throned in the heights of mystic meaning: they eat of the endless bounties of inner significances, and drink of the delicate wines of the spirit."  (The Seven Valley and the Four Valleys)

When I saw the cat boys in deep meditation I too entered the backyard of contentment.

They sent you pawfuls of kisses and their warmest wishes.

Ciao everyone!

Everywhere smells like Thanksgiving

and there is not much else to say. Cat boys already know. Signs of it are here and there.

Mr Puffy Pants gave a thorough checking here

and here.

Mr Sweet Pants checked here.

Mr Puffy Pants checked here too.

He sensed that there was much to  be done and so he ran with urgency

to consult with his brother,

and then he ran again!

Yes, I think all this activity is related to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday but I don't understand, it is not like they are going to make the turkey.

The cat boys were so busy that I could only get a few minutes of their time to check in and chat.  I thought to share with them this poem by Edward Lear

The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
‘O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!

Cat boys really loved the poem.  They took a long moment to fill their paws with kisses to send your way and to make heartfelt deep warm wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving for all!

Ciao everyone!

Removing Strangeness From the Heart....

We were spending moments together..the light fell on us in round bubbles.

The squirrel considered himself near and at home and thought to stop and smell the roses so to speak.

Mr Sweet Pants felt that nearness and simply looked,

at least for a moment or two before the cat inside of him woke up.

Mr Puffy Pants was not to be distracted by such lovey dovey things,

he wanted to pounce and hug that squirrel or maybe just teach him a lesson.

We reflected on this:

O friend, the heart is the dwelling place of eternal mysteries, make it not the home of fleeting fancies..Thou comest from the world of holiness, bind not thine heart to the earth; thou art a dweller in the court of nearness, choose not the homeland of dust.  (Hidden Words)

Cat boys enjoyed their reflection and reported that they would continue with the squirrel chases!  They sent their best wishes for this Wednesday and many many cat kisses!

Ciao everyone!

Just for records...

Augustus came to us in August but he was born in July.

He is a remarkable mix of augustness and sweetness plus a good dose of contrariness only on certain days of the month or certain hours of the day.  He shows his sweetness privately because he does not want other folks to think that he is a pussy.

Contemplating, learning and discovery give him joy, and for that we have called him Mr Sweet Pants.

Ollie has a liking for comfortable Puffy Pants, hence the name Mr Puffy Pants.  His chosen name has French roots, Olivier, though he has no French traits at all. He eats herring like a real Swede, does the step dance on our stomachs like an Irish, and spends a good deal of time plotting, like Cato in Pink Panther.  For a while when he was younger he insisted to be called Chief Puffy Pants and we obliged.  Our Chinese neighbor calls him Olive and tries to rub her hands on him for good luck!  Olive finds this very strange but he is usually game.

When he is focusing he looks like a vulcan cat, a cute vulcan with super powers.

Augustus glanced at Ollie who was exerting himself mentally with sweet love expressed in his face.

Early this morning we found ourselves ONE squirrel, a young one.  This one did not seem to mind wandering in paw distance of Ollie although Ollie minded that.

The two boys found this mildly unusual

while I found it greatly unusual.  I wondered how far the squirrel was going to go

before the orange one would no longer take it.  The squirrel because a shadow at that very moment.

Ollie changed his spot and in no time the game resumed.

The cat boys wished to reflect upon the Names of Ahura Mazda and see if there was one called Sweet Pants and one called Puffy Pants; and so I read to them from the Avesta:  (I know some might find it odd that our cat boys are initiated into the mystical and divine; frankly, we are puzzled too but we think it is better not to ask too many questions.)

Then Zarathushtra said: 'Reveal unto me that name of thine,

O Ahura Mazda! that is the greatest, the best, the fairest, the

most effective, the most fiend-smiting, the best-healing, that

destroyeth best the malice of Daevas and Men…

Ahura Mazda replied unto him:

'My name is the One of whom questions are asked, O holy Zarathushtra!

'My second name is the Herd-giver

'My third name is the Strong One

'My fourth name is Perfect Holiness.

'My fifth name is All good things created by Mazda, the offspring

of the holy principle.

'My sixth name is Understanding;

'My seventh name is the One with understanding.

'My eighth name is Knowledge;

'My ninth name is the One with Knowledge.

'My tenth name is Weal;

'My eleventh name is He who produces weal.

'My twelfth name is AHURA (the Lord).

'My thirteenth name is the most Beneficent.

'My fourteenth name is He in whom there is no harm.

'My fifteenth name is the unconquerable One.

'My sixteenth name is He who makes the true account.

'My seventeenth name is the All-seeing One.

'My eighteenth name is the healing One.

'My nineteenth name is the Creator.

'My twentieth name is MAZDA (the All-knowing One).

Much to their astonishment there were no such names in the list, no Mr Puffy Pants or Mr Sweet Pants and I was actually relieved.  We shall search more later they meowed.

Cat boys made you lovely wishes and sent them to you with pawfuls of kisses....Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Ciao!

PS- incidentally this post was from another recent Wednesday that was like this Wednesday but I decided to post it later to remove the time dimension from our daily experience.  It is all fun no matter when it happened.

Geography of Souls

Away for two weeks, yesterday I arrived. As our car pulled in by the curb that cool and sunny morning I heard the familiar meow meows of the cat boys.  As I got out I felt that I was the blank piece of jigsaw puzzle that fell right into its spot.

Life was a bit of the same and a bit different in my inside.  I had left to visit my mom who was sick, rather seriously, and spending time with her each day I felt my soul stretched to places unfamiliar for some time.

The cat boys were interested in showing me around, we noted the bird in the neighbor yard, and the house behind is the cat house with 6 big cats.  I know the cat mom and we try to keep our fellows away from each other.

The cat boys took me down the leafy path towards the back, we sniffed the air,

examined the light, noted the temps and the aridity of our surroundings.  The sounds too were crisp, not just the light and the leaves.

Mr Puffy Pants was seemingly more fluffy and yet more slender, kudos to MrLittleJeans who did not give them heaps of treats the way I do.

Mr Sweet Pants was sweeter than ever if such a thing could be possible.  He showed me himself and his clear gorgeous shadow too.

I decided to share with them something I had read that I was examining in my own self...

"And as there are inhabitants that roam the surface of the planet, sometimes alone on windswept sand dunes, sometimes congested in the city streets, so too the countryside within contains some interesting folk.  Indeed, there are multitudes within us, as well as without.  Most live and die unnamed, unknown. For multitudes are hard to become acquainted with, as the most well-meaning would hasten to point out.  Dare we count our myriad doubts and fears, question their intricate lineage and try to disentangle ourselves from their enigmatic control?  Do we care to encounter our stranger prejudices, learn how they hide themselves under our erudition or become acquainted with their characters?  Perhaps it is just as well that the multitudes within us remain nameless, that we send a cheque in their direction once in a while, that we give them a nod of acknowledgement in order to avoid taking them into account every day."  (Four on an Island_Nakhjavvani)

Augustus left to find a private corner for meditation, of course after he sent you kisses.

Ollie sat down to think and he too sent kisses.

I felt that I was different in some ways...forced to be more of myself because I was the observer in a hospital room that contained four ill people, ill to varying degrees, for twelve days for twelve hours each day.  Most of those hours were spend looking at each person, looking at those who came and left, finding the hidden humor of each moment and making sure that nothing but humor would dare express itself in the neighborhood of those ill folks.  They laughed hard, I am sure harder than they would have had they been well, they were irreverend and unmindful of their relative conditions.

I related to the passage above but in a different way, I became aware of the multitudes within that were stronger and more delightful, that had no prejudices.  I don't want to be there again but I have found hope that the worst of situations can still be the best.

We all missed our cyber buddies...good to know you are all where you are.  Stay healthy and enjoy the cat kisses.

Ciao everyone!