A year ago tonight my heart leapt as I peered in the window of my neighbor's home. I don't make a habit of looking into neighbor's windows. I had reluctantly walked down the street to view a kitten that had been described as 'embodying love.'The last thing I wanted was a new kitten. My cat of nearly 18 years had died just two weeks prior. I told my neighbor earlier in the day when she called to say she thought his kitten was 'mine' that I just wanted Templeton back. I wasn't seeking a rebound cat.
Debating whether to walk down the street, I asked Templeton what I should do and immediately heard, "Listen to your heart." Templeton in her last days had provided me with a crash course in presence and love, showing me how I had ignored my heart for much of my life. Inside I knew that everything I espoused learning during her last days would be useless if I didn't obey this inner voice and at least give this little creature a glance.
In Depak Chopra's novel "The Return of Merlin' Merlin states, "We are living a mystery. Hopefully we are not too busy to miss the vital clues." That night I got a clue.
My heart literally jumped when I saw the lively calico kitten chasing the wire toy shared by the little girls in the room. Templeton had had three paws and was active but never this active. I couldn't imagine this hyperactive bundle living in my unchildproofed home. Yet my heart jumped. I felt it move inside my chest. I held "Patches" once briefly but she squirmed to get down and continue playing. This cat had no attachment to me regardless of my heart's calisthenics.
I went to dinner and considered the options. If I didn't agree to a one night sleepover, I would always wonder if I had missed something. I returned to get "Patches."
At five am the next morning, I lay in bed sadly thinking, 'I have adopted this kitten. I have opened my heart, the heart that two weeks prior had felt such sorrow, yet I have not been adopted.' On cue, Patches crawled from the foot of the bed and curled up under my chin purring loudly. I lay there smiling. The adoption was in process.
Patches became Mystery who has truly been the embodiment of love. In the beginning she would look at me with her head cocked as if to say, "Dont' you get it? Templeton sent me to ensure your heart didn't harden."
She's right. I now know those little jumping jacks of joy I felt when I saw her told me my heart was more alive than it had ever been thanks to Templeton's teachings as she passed. That is the Mystery. The heart through deep presence alchemically changes sorrow to joy.
Imagine the shift as we become attentive within and without, attentive to see, hear, feel and sense the clues to the Mystery that's unfolding in life in this time through our bodies, hearts and minds. (If you'd like the story of Templeton's teachings, email me at dawn@imaginetheshift.com and I'll send it to you.) That's Good News
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