Soooo…we have started to feed the stray cat. Not ours. But one outside.
This is a cat that seems to have lived the majority of its life outdoors. No creature comforts. Just survival.
This survival will have necessarily included protecting itself from the environment. Other cats. Cars. Humans with ill-intent.
You would think this cat would be paranoid. Afraid of its shadow. Hissing at humans.
Instead, this cat seems to take life in stride, accepting what is. Living in the moment. Let me give you an example.
Yesterday another cat who lives up the street was in our bushes. The cat hissed at any other cats that approached, angrily protecting its territory. (Mind you, this cat has a lovely home with humans that love it.) But it refused to give up an inch of its perceived outdoor territory, owned by no one.
But our infallible stray, instead of initiating a turf-war, simply abdicated the square of outdoors. Sharing its space and allowing the other cat to claim what it needed to make it feel safe.
I can learn a thing or two from my courageous stray. In this world I often stake my claim. Outwardly pissing on what I believe to be my rightful square of the world. Terrified. Afraid that someone else will try to take what I think is ‘mine’. And hunkering down in my tiny little space in order to feel safe.
But what if instead I chose to expand my perception of what I think is mine? To allow for those in need to share what was never really mine to begin with. To allow whoever needs to, to feel safe by giving way to their need to protect themselves. And to have compassion for whatever square of this collective consciousness they are residing in today.
What a big, bad, beautiful world would I see, if all were allowed to feel safe in their beliefs, even if they infringed upon mine. If I could make kindness my currency and share this with anyone who came into my vicinity.
So I think I’ll take a lesson from this fearlessly beautiful creature today. To learn to not get my fur ruffled when someone makes loud noises or hisses at my concept of reality. I’ll be at peace and find my perfect space to relax into.
And I’ll try to remember that it was never really just my space at all-It is a shared Universe of perfect expressions. And when I can see myself. My fears. My insecurities. My worries in the cat next door-I can grow into the unity we were all destined to love into.
Shine on together light workers! Namaste