Christmas Every Day

I woke up yesterday wondering what my day would hold for me. I confess that I begin a lot of my days in resistance to the responsibilities and perceived difficulties I anticipate I'll encounter to varying degrees.

Yesterday morning, however, I felt a perceptible shift in my perspective. I looked forward to my day in anticipation of the surprises that may await me like gifts, prettily wrapped and tucked under the tree on a Christmas morning.

My morning unfolded much the same as any other, but when I stepped outside my door, ready to face the world, I felt a sense of excitement as I wondered what I would experience in the course of my day that would surprise and delight me.

A rainbow perhaps? A dragonfly or an especially radiant stream of sunshine breaking through the gray cloud cover? I couldn't wait to find out what awaited me.

As it just so happens, my day was, indeed, filled with a number of remarkable gifts and wonders that did delight me. Was it my eyesight that had changed so I could see and focus on something different or had I been attracting wondrous things into my life all day? I think, perhaps, it was a combination of the two.

What if you treated every day as though it were Christmas morning? How might it be different for you?

Cleansing

I'm someone who rarely gets sick. I'm blessed with a strong immune system and it's unusual for me to stay home from work due to illness.

I've noticed in the past few weeks though, that I've been struggling with various ailments.

In talking with a few of my teammates who are taking the same course with me, we noted that nearly all of us have been experiencing some form of physical illness ranging from recurring headaches to flu-like symptoms and a variety of things in between.

It occurred to us that the work we've been doing to become more whole and to rid ourselves of our long-held limiting beliefs and behaviours is affecting us on a cellular level. In effect, it feels as though our bodies are ridding themselves of toxins that we've held onto for years.

This may seem like a simplistic notion to those of you who are more in tune with this aspect of yourselves.

It's been my habit over the years to pass these bouts of sickness off as little more than annoyances, but I've determined that I'm going to pay closer attention to the ways in which my body may be communicating with me.

If you've had experience with this on your journey toward living a more authentic life, in alignment with your core essence, I'd be interested to hear.

How to Train Your Human

How to Train your Human in 4 Easy Steps

by The Delectable Miss Celine

Humans are exceedingly easy to train, if you simply follow a few basic guidelines.

1. Use What God Gave You. Don't be afraid to milk your cuteness for all it's worth. Humans are especially susceptible to the allure of languid stretches and the fun of playtime with simulated mouse toys.

Note: Avoid bringing real mice into the house. For some inexplicable reason, this is rarely considered cute behaviour by your human.

2. Speak Up For What You Want. A well timed Meow!, especially when paired with a steady wide-eyed gaze, works wonders for gaining your human's attention.

This is especially effective in the wee hours of the morning when the house is at its quietest and before your human is fully awake and therefore more impressionable.

Most humans are willing to run through a whole repertoire of offerings in an effort to appease you, their beloved feline companion. This can be an amusing form of entertainment all on its own and your humans may surprise you with their creativity. In fact, they may offer you things in a moment of desperation that you'd never have considered demanding on your own. So, go ahead and have some fun with this one.

3. Persevere. If at first you don't succeed, Meow! Meow! again. It has been my experience that humans can tolerate a lot of things, but a cat relentlessly in pursuit of what she wants is not one of them and their resolve weakens very quickly when they find themselves up against a persistent feline, particularly if you cease eating for a few days and increase your volume.

Can you say Tuna?!

4. Provide Positive Reinforcement. This may very well be the key to the success of this entire training process, so use it liberally. I've found that the best and most easily understood method of letting your human know that you're pleased is to indulge in what I've coined, The Contented Purr.

As a final note, remember: Most humans mean well and are eager to please, they're just not that bright. So, be patient, be insistent, and refuse to settle for less than what any self-respecting cat deserves. They'll eventually come around to your way of thinking, if for no other reason than to restore some semblance of order and peace in their home. If you do it right, you'll have them thinking it was all their idea in the first place.

Bon Chance, my furry friends!

Fan mail for the inscrutable Miss Celine can be left in the space provided below.

Silent Sunday

"The smaller the branch you walk out on in life,
the more you will see God holding you up."

Anonymous

Cat Quest

I'm in the process of adopting a cat from my local shelter. I confess, I fell in love with her over the internet before I'd ever met her in person...what can I say, it's my modus operandi.

I went to see her this past Saturday with the hope of bringing her home with me then & there. After I was able to prove that my condo complex allows pets (big production!), the woman I was speaking with told me there was some discrepancy over her age.

*sigh* Why are these things never straightforward?

The guy who brought her in said she had been his mother's cat and that his mother got her as a kitten 7 years ago. His mom had just died and he couldn't keep the cat. When the shelter vets checked her out, they thought she looked closer to 12 or 13 years of age because of the poor condition of her teeth. In fact, the vets said she needed very expensive dental work. I'm inclined to believe that she's closer to 7 or 8 years old and just didn't receive proper dental care.

Hmmm....I told the woman that I hadn't been prepared to assume more vet bills, since I'd just had a very ill cat pass away in August. She excused herself and went to talk with the vet on duty. When she came back, she told me that they would be willing to take care of her dental work. That was an unexpected and pleasant surprise!

They kept her at the shelter on Saturday so they could do a blood test presumably to make sure she was healthy enough to withstand the dental surgery. I spoke with my contact at the shelter on Monday and she told me that the little darlin' wasn't havin' any of that! I guess she has a little bit of spunk left in her yet!

They eventually got a blood sample but the results were inconclusive. After further questioning, they told me that they had also taken a urine sample and one test indicated that she was diabetic, while another one indicated she wasn't. They thought the false positive could have been caused by stress. They want to re-test her in a month and asked me if I'd be willing to foster her in the interim. I'll have to do some investigative work to find out what's involved in caring for a diabetic animal, if it comes to that.

In the meantime, I said Yes! to fostering her and brought her home with me last night. This gets her out of the shelter and into a proper home, I don't have to pay the adoption fee yet, and it will give us all a chance to get acquainted.

So far, she's taken no more than a passing interest in Bunny. For his part, Bunny is very curious, but not overly alarmed to have another four-footed critter roaming around.

She's very vocal. Very. At first I thought it was because she was hungry, but now I think it's a bid for attention because as soon as she gets some, she quietens right down.

She's also extremely curious and any open cabinet has to be thoroughly investigated. Excuse the poor quality of the photos. She was constantly on the move, there was low lighting, and that was the best shot I was able to get.

She came to us as Cee Cee, but here in our home, she'll be known as Celine (seh LYNN).

A new name for a new life.

Silent Sunday - Happiness

"If you observe a really happy man, you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating his son, growing double dahlias or looking for dinosaur eggs in the Gobi Desert. He will not be searching for happiness as if it were a collar button that had rolled under the radiator, striving for it as a goal in itself. He will have become aware that he is happy in the course of living life twenty-four crowded hours of each day."

W. Beran Wolfe

My Big Revelation

I had a moment of clarity the other day after having a conversation with someone whom I care for deeply.

It suddenly occurred to me why I love animals so much.

Get ready for it....

Animals are not intimidated by Love.

In fact, animals ARE Love. Sure there are a few bad apples, but I think most will agree with me when I say it's not the animals who are bad, it's the people who raise them. But, that's a whole other blog post.

Animals revel in Love, lap it up, absorb it, and return it a thousand fold. In truth, they're an awe inspiring source of unlimited Love all on their own. They love with their hearts wide open, without fear of being rejected or hurt.

That's it. That's my big revelation.

*Grin*

(Stay tuned for pictures of a new furry feline face soon!)

M.I.A.

I'm sure it seems like I've been Missing In Action lately and I want to let everyone know that I haven't gone far. I've been sorting through my lifetime collection of stored thoughts and emotions these past several weeks, tossing out what no longer serves me and polishing up those that I've long neglected. As a result, things are in a bit of disarray. It's been a challenge for me to clearly articulate my experience so far, hence the silence.

I thought today I would simply do a little housekeeping.

My boyfriend of 2 months is a good fit for me and I'm very happy.

Oh, did I not mention that earlier..? *grin*

K and I met for the first time two years ago and have maintained a loose friendship over the years. Our new relationship is not all roses, but I'm pleased to find that we seem able to deal with the weedy patches with love and respect and when the difficult moments pass, we have a new understanding of each other and a deeper bond.

By the way, I believe K is the answer to a letter I put in God's mailbox not long ago.

I finally got off the fence and officially adopted Bunny this past weekend. I love the little guy and his home is here with me.

K and I have plans to visit a couple of animal shelters on the weekend in the hope that we will meet and hopefully bring home a new feline family member. I'm very excited!

I also registered for a photoshop course that begins next month. It's my hope that the knowledge I gain there will result in a better finished product and more personal satisfaction with my photography. Where that may lead is unknown, but it will make more options and opportunities available to me and that's always good. So, be prepared to be my artistic guinea pigs.

There are lots of things going on for me right now, most of them internal. Once I finish processing it all, I'll share more of my pithy thoughts.

In the meantime, I'll jot down a few random thoughts, share some family photos, and send a postcard now and then.

Silent Sunday - Hidden Beauty

"What makes the desert beautiful
is that somewhere it hides a well."

The Little Prince

Road Trip

What is it about the words Road Trip that make me want to bubble over with the sheer excitement of it? It's like a mini vacation that requires little to no wait time to begin enjoying. In fact, the more spontaneous the planning, the better.

I don't have to rein in my emotions to keep from making myself crazy while I wait for the months to slowly tick by before I can depart. I can go from planning to excited happy dancing in as long as it takes to say "Let's do it!"

I can plan a road trip and be gone in as little as one day, if I choose to, and with a minimum of preparation short of a full tank of gas. I don't even really need a map. Just point me in the general direction of where I want to go and I'll find my way, even if it involves a few unexpected detours along the way.

Getting lost is all part of the adventure.

In fact, some of my favourite places are ones that I 'discovered' when I left the main road.

The best road trips are the ones that allow for lots of spontaneity.

You want to stop by this lake and wade in the cool water for a while? Okay!

Want to wander through this art gallery and pretend we're high rollers with a limo waiting outside? Okay!

How about finding a spot in the sunshine where we can just sit and sip a coffee drink while we watch people stroll by. Okay!

The possibilities are infinite and I'll be indulging in a few of them this weekend.

It's Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend. I do hope your weekend is full of joyful moments.

My Great Ambition

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom."

Thomas Carlyle