Cat owners will appreciate the humor in this story:
Muffy whips out the door, at midnight when Margie takes the dog out for his last squat. “Great! Now I have to find the cat,” she rants. Margie spent hours calling her name, tapping the food can, in hopes that the fluffy white puff ball would tip toe over the threshold, as she usually did. But, no. It’s now past midnight, and Margie, with only 4 hours of sleep in the last 24 hours, is now beside herself that little Miss Muffet just had to take a hike on this night!
Clambering back to her bedroom, desperate for just a piece of sleep, Margie finds herself tossing and turning,all night, worrying about Muffy. Could she be stuck in a pipe somewhere? Did she get hit by a car? Did a rabid fox get her? Eventually, Margie collapses into sleep out of worried exhaustion.
Early the next morning, Margie realizes that she fell asleep and Muffy was still out there… in the wilderness of the summer nights. She bolts out bed, grabbing her robe; she hooks up the dog to his leash and heads for the door. “Got to find Muffy before the kids wake up and find out,” she mumbles in a frantic fumble to unlock the door, her eyes sagging and red.
Margie opens the door, slips on one clog and steps forward with bare foot bouncing her big toe around to slide into the other shoe. Hopping on one foot, balancing the dog’s leash, and a shred of dignity, her bare foot lands on something that does not quite feel like the soft shoe she anticipated, but this soft, squishy, a bit wet, piece of yuk. Margie knows what it is, as it is all too familiar.
Muffy, in all her glory, shows up at the front door, attentively tip-toeing back and forth, vying for her attention. “Meow, meow, meow,”she attempts to cue Margie’s smile in her flirtatious mews. But no smiles, today. Margie looks down and sees that her dear little Muffy has brought…well… a gift, albeit a strange one, as she lifts her foot, stuck with mouse, and gags.
“No no, kitty!” she screams, kicking the mouse across the front lawn. Yes, it is the sacrificial field mouse. Muffy has spent all night looking for the very special one, just for her stressed out owner. Margie, in her haste,scowls at the dog, as he has one furry foot in the air; and, yanks him back.
Margie carefully hops backwards scraping off what is left of Mickey, and, heads back into the house, grabbing Muffy by the scruff on the way in. Door slams and so the story of the day begins.
What did you notice about this story? Is there anything familiar that you can take away?
For cat owners, gifts from the cat are a very special occasion. They may hunt for hours to bring back their prized sacrifice from the wild.
In our human-ness, it is often easy to overlook what others bring to us, as a gift. Whether it is a lesson, a shared talent, or even shared time. They are gifts of the heart.
More importantly, it is our life journey that we discover, recognize and utilize our own gifts. These, sometimes hidden, talents are born from our mind and soul, and are delivered when our body shows up to bring them outward to our world.
When one is able to relax the mind by accepting the current emotions, accepting what is, loving what is, and having an attitude of gratitude, one is able, easily, to see the gifts within the heart; and, to recognize when others bring us gifts….such as Muffy’s very special drop at the front door.
How does one get to this point? There is so much information on the web, in books, papers, etc.! How do people corral all of this information to pull their inner wisdom and know where their gifts lie? Yoga, meditation, go to the spa, eat this brain food, take this supplement, stand on your head. It is insane, you say!!
Every ounce of my being says, “You…are…Correct!” Inner wisdom has nothing to do with what we learn in books, how we meditate (although there are benefits to that), or even how much we rely on the internet for our answers to the “how-to’s.”
And the answer is (drum roll please)…..wisdom comes from your heart!
When our mind is in total alignment, we are well-grounded , we think positive thoughts. Our heart begins to speak in us and through us in ways we never thought we could imagine.
From the practice of bringing alignment emerges our gifts. Our gifts of who we are, what is our true purpose for our life on this beautiful earth. This IS your heart and living from YOUR heart.
Next time your little Muffy brings a “gift,” won’t you view it just a little differently? View it with L-O-V-E!
Kathleen “Kat” Kohler Schwartz is a Holistic Mentor and owner of Salt of the Earth Holistic Wellness. Kat practices Emotional Wisdom Training and Neuro Linguistic Programming to help women realize their inner voice toward living a happier, more fulfilling life.
Kat conducts her sessions over the phone and is available worldwide for English speaking clientele.
Visit her website: http://saltoftheearthholisticwellness.com
Honor Thy Cat’s Gifts! Cat owners will appreciate the humor in this story: Muffy whips out the door, at midnight when Margie takes the dog out for his last squat.
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