Friends, Faith and Facebook

One of my friends e-mailed me recently. "You have to join Facebook" was the message. I shot back- "Really? Do I really have to do this?"
"Yes" came the reply, "just go do it".

Well, OK I thought, because this friend has never steered me wrong, so I joined facebook. Much to my dismay, I found some people I knew there, and got caught up on what was happening in their lives. I also started getting messages from people I didn't know, but what the heck, you can never have to many friends.

So I hooked up with the guy from Wales that shares my last name, he was gathering people that share our name, and, it turns out, he has quite the sense of humor. I hooked up with "shared name people" from here to the edges of the known world. I figure we may be faintly related by name but we are definitely related by species. After all, we are all human, and in our brief notes back and forth, we are all sharing not only a name, but the things that make us human. All one, all the same somehow.

I also hooked up with the guy from Italy that is interested in Tibet, and things Tibetan. Then I hooked him up with my friend Chophel, the East LA kid turned Magna Cum Laude, turned Tibetan Buddhist Monk. Now the guy from Italy, and all my other new friends are enjoying Chophel's updates from his trip to the monastery in India.

See how Facebook works? It's like a giant cocktail party in cyberspace, and small talk rules as you work the room, making contacts and sharing contacts and learning about people.

I also, one day, got a "friends request" from a long lost friend. I had not talked with this friend since we graduated from the university, we had lost track rather quickly and I had not thought about her in many moons. We quickly got caught up on the where are you, what are you doing kind of information that is so interesting. I was happy to hear about her successful business, marriage, three children and her positive attitude about life that was a cornerstone of our friendship many years earlier.

When you run into someone at a cocktail party that you really connect with, the small talk slips away before long and you get to the questions that tickle at the back of our minds, those that we normally only speak of with close friends. Eventually, you find yourself standing in a corner with an empty cocktail glass after the party has wound down, contemplating some big question with your new found friend. Somehow it's reaffirming to know that a total stranger shares the same ideas that you have, and it's comforting if they can help refine the picture in your mind by giving up some insight that was obvious to them, but somehow had eluded you until this very moment in cocktail party history.

It didn't take my long lost friend and I very long to get to the nitty gritty. What is the nature of faith? What do you believe when you think of the almighty? Is a fortunate incident luck or is it divine intervention?

Albert Einstein said "God does not play dice with the universe."
Stephen Hawking said "Not only does God play dice with the universe, he cheats."
Two of the biggest brains ever born and they can't agree. Where does that leave us normal folk when we are pondering the big questions? Is it possible to know the answer to something like this?

My long lost friend related a incident of very good fortune involving a broken down car on the highway, a roving car full of unsavory guys, and a couple stopping to offer assistance- they just happened to be going my friends way, and just in the nick of time swept, her out of harms reach and right to the door of her destination. Her thought? "It wasn't luck."

My reply was the story of how I found my best pet. I wanted a pet, but was getting ready to make a move across the country. I was in conflict about the move, it would be difficult, but I thought it was the right thing to do. I admit I bargained with God. "I'm going to do what I think is right but you damn well better send me a cat to keep me company in my new life." was what I told God.

Two days after I arrived at my destination, I parked the car in a driveway and opened the door. A kitten jumped in my car and right into my lap. I don't know to this day how I did not run that kitten over when I pulled in the driveway. I thought it must belong to the people in the house, so I took it inside. It was not their cat. They lived in the middle of no where so it could not be the neighbors cat. It was so young it still had it's kitten teeth, and it turned out to be a Norwegian Forest cat, the breed at the top of my list for next time I got a cat. ( By the way, no one knew my top cat preference but me). I named him Fe, which is Spanish for faith. That cat is the most loving and loyal animal I have ever had, and that is saying a lot because I have had dogs that would follow me to hell and back, and cats that glued themselves to me when I walked in the door of the house, and had to be peeled away before I could walk out the door. My thought? It wasn't luck.

I bet everyone has a story like that, something that happened that can't really be explained, but can't be dismissed either. Everyone has a story that illuminates the question we ponder- is it luck or divine intervention? I don't know the answer for you, but I do for me. I'm with Einstein, God does not play dice with the universe, if it appears that she does, it's just because we don't understand the patterns of the universe.

What do you think? Take a moment and share your story in the comment section, I will publish all of them.

Peace, Meandering.

The Elephant Tamer

I’m comfortable in the ring, intent on just being there, relaxed. With a thundering run that shakes the ground the lumbering beast appears. The whole floor shakes as the beast comes close, with a leap he lands right next to me in the ring. He circles, circles, circles about. I turn and twist, keeping the beast in front of me. I remember all the times I have seen the elephant tamer gently nudging the great beast into submission.

There is no way to rush a beast of this nature, you must await the beasts’ own time. And time it takes, as the beast circles and sniffs and hops about. He comes close and sniffs at my ear, barely missing landing his great paw on my face. He comes around the other side, leans in and places a slimy tongue across my face and my lips are covered with his saliva. He enjoys this and I twist about, trying to protect life and limb as I wipe his spit away with the back of my hand. The beast sniffs about and circles more, stepping over me as if I’m a crack on the sidewalk.

Whip you ask, why don’t I use a whip? Well, you wouldn’t know that with a beast of this nature, a whip does no good. No, a short stick works best. I can tap at the beast and slowly, gently direct him to the place I want him, a tap on the leg, a tap on his side, a tap on his rear. One tap at a time. I wait until he is close to the position I want him in. It takes some time as he has to plod about, sniffing my hair and clothes. He stretches a few times, great tail in the air, big body arched, long legs splayed in front and behind. At one point he drops like a rock, and rolls onto his back, huge paws flailing about in the air. He rolls, side to side for a few minutes and rights himself. This I know to be a sign that the beast is about to settle down.

I carefully give him a nudge on a back leg, moving him along to a position closer to where I want him. The trainer in me is on full alert as I know, one nudge to soon, to hard or in the wrong place will send the beast into another frenzied dance in circles and we would have to start all over again. I nudge, nudge, nudge the beast slowly in a circle and then a tap behind the leg and he starts to lower him self to the ground. A tap on the other leg brings him a bit closer and a tap on his side and he rolls over, onto his side, his great head just an inch from mine. He is not quite settled in as he must stretch his great paws and grab my hair, tousling it into a rats nest of tangles, this I have learned is a sure sign of affection from the beast.

He seems calm and just wiggles about for a few more minutes, actually wedging himself against my shoulder, his nose just inches from my ear. For a moment there is silence, then a great rumble erupts from the throat of the beast as he starts to serenade me with a purr.

Only an elephant tamer knows. Knows how to settle a great beast, one who can not be intimidated, nor threatened. One who cannot be beat into submission. An elephant tamer works with the natural instinct of the beast, and a lot of patience, as they gently nudge the elephant to do as they wish. The use a stick, and tap a signal on the elephant to indicate what they wish the elephant to do, a tap on the leg they wish the elephant to raise, a tap on the shoulder when they wish the elephant to kneel down, a tap on the side they wish the elephant to turn to. Only the elephant can decide if the wish will come true.

When is a short guy tall?

Now I never would have thought I would fall for a really short guy, I mean, I've dated plenty of guys that were just the same height as I, but never one who was shorter. I'm not prejudice against short guys, it's just that although I may be taller than a lot of girls, I'm not taller than a lot of guys. I've never met many guys shorter than I.

Any-hoo, I am totally in love with a short guy. I can't help it. He's so handsome, he's so smart, he's affectionate to me and only me because he's also loyal. He's a one woman man. We just adore each other.

Then I got to thinking he actually is a very tall guy, because, at 17 inches he is tall for a cat. He's apparently a Norwegian Forest cat, or kin to, and they are known for their intelligence, long muscular legs, and amazing climbing ability.

So really, I've fallen for a tall guy because a short guy is tall when he's tall for his species even if his species is short. Right?

From The Same Flame.

I went to see “Horton Hears a Who” this week, and it was like licking a windowpane and I don’t mean the kind in your house if ya get my drift. If you don’t, well lets just say it was very colorful. I don’t remember the book really well, it was so long ago, but I can’t recall the part where the little yellow thingie (what ever it was) told Horton that she had an imaginary world where all the inhabitants were ponies that ate rainbows and pooped butterflies. Maybe I just don’t remember that part or maybe the film makers elaborated a tad. I did think it was interesting and entertaining imagery. Horton started questioning whether there might be something bigger than himself somewhere up above and that possibly his whole world was just a speck teetering on the edge of some huge flower. Yes Horton, we have all been there. So I was drifting off to sleep last night, with my bestest cat wrapped around my head like a furry thinking cap, and pondering that giant elephant in the sky. It got me to considering how we end up with our furry little friends. I imagined a huge being pulling hot coal out of the universal fire. The big being fanned the coal until a flame sprang forth. That was the human soul created. The being knew the heart of the human would long to return to the creator and would be lonely wandering the universe waiting for that day. The being felt compassion for the humans loneliness and decided to give the human a gift. The being held the flame in one hand and with the other pinched off a little piece of the flame and sent it spinning around the central flame. Like a little planet of fire orbiting a torch. Then the big being blew on the pair and sent them spinning off into the universe, one human and one pet soul, from the same flame. I think the being knew that the pet would not live as long as the human, and in making them from the same flame the being made them eternally inseparable. The pet soul would always return to the flame it was born of, life after life, and there by teach the human soul the truth of impermanence of all things and the true nature of love, ever changing but never ending. The human soul could also learn, if it were willing, the lesson that Horton and his friends learned. To be kind to all, for a soul is a soul, no matter how small.

Four Pawed Purring Turban

I think there are two types of people in the world, those who love cats and those who don't.

Just like there are two kinds of people when it comes to living in the southwest desert. there are those who arrive, are enchanted ( the light, the vastness, the colors!) and vow to never leave; and those who arrive, start to whine (there's no green, it's to hot, it's to dry, my wood furniture is cracking , I miss the rain, I found a 5 inch poisonous millipede in my bathtub. whine!) and can't wait for the economy to pick up "back east" so they can go home.
But I confess, I digress.

If you are one of those who have not yet been enchanted by cats, let me clue you in. Research shows cats heal! Yes, hallelujah, praise the lord and be healed.

Apparently someone asked these questions- why do cats ( from the big wild cats to the smallest domestic) purr when they are sick and injured? Aren't they only supposed to do this when content and relaxed? And then they set about figuring out why.
You can read the whole story here:

http://www.animalvoice.com/catpurrP.htm

In a nutshell folks it says that the frequency of a cats purr aids in tissue healing and increases lung function. This is not really that far out, I mean , for years the medical profession has been using electrical frequency to repair and build bone cells.

So the researchers took it one step further and asked, if the purr helps heal the cats injuries, can it heal someone who hears the cat purr? The answer? Yes. So now you can buy a CD with the sound of a cat purring to listen to when you are sick or injured. Personally I would rather have my very own cat purring in my ear.

I was thinking of this as I lay in bed and listened to the cat who was wrapped around my head. Now, if you are a cat person you know it's not unusual to find a cat wrapped around your head. In fact, for years it was thought that a cat could steal your dreams by wrapping around your head, but I haven't found that to be true. Maybe it just allows them to listen in.

If you are not a cat person, it might seem a little odd to wake with a four pawed purring turban, but believe me it's worth every nip on the nose, lick on the eyeball and little paw in the ear. I've got no problem with picking a cat hair outta my eye lashes now and then, or waking up and finding my pillow is under the cat instead of my head. It's worth it to awake to the healing purr of a cat.

I always take a moment to just press my ear against him and listen. I let my mind find the vibrational frequency and my breath find the rhythm of his purr. I may not be sick or injured, but hey, a little healing vibe can't hurt, and it's a relaxing and comforting way to start the day.

So I was thinking, isn't this a really good, scientifically proven example of the way nature heals? Maybe those feline worshiping Egyptians were right after all, maybe cats do have incredible powers we haven't fully realized.

Even if you are not hep to the new age lingo and theories of energy and chakras and all that, I'm sure you have heard at least a whisper of what the new quantum physics tells us about this energy field we live in. There is energy all around us, and everything is connected, right? And maybe nature was designed or evolved to give us everything we need. We just have to listen.