always a lesson

How did it get to be Friday again?/
It's been an uneasy week for me.  Cataract and Cat. The same day my "good" eye, the one with the astigmatism, started to cloud over, Muji slept all day. The next day he was unwell. Having gone off the therapeutic diet, I knew my veterinarian would not have much to offer me but more therapies that might address the "bug" Muji had, but not his overall health. With the support of 3 knowledgeable women, I began to see Muji improve, holding down his food, colour in his face, his vitality back, . Then Wally, who's been concerned too, came home from work last night suggesting that we shouldn't let the cats lick the raw food prep bowls clean (as we had on Friday), but freeze the food to kill any microbes that grew at room temperature. This rings true, especially as we've since learned that some Siamese cats are prone to gastrointestinal sensitivities. Of course, Babu has been healthy through all the food changes, mixed breed that he is and, hardier than aristocratic Muji.

And my eye is somewhat improved too, having upped the doses of the Budwig protocol from 2 to 3 times a day. I still haven't lodged the cataract from the origianl eye after 7 weeks, but hope springs eternal.

After throwing up his first breakfast this morning, Muji was drawn to the sound of the birds

the Call of the Wild

Assessing his chances of escape

the haunted. look of his captive wild soul

Of course I'd love to let the boys out, but the dangers to this gentle creature are manifold:

the busy road we're on, feral cats, the untrained dog next door, fleas and deer ticks- shall I go on?

I know that sitting in an open window, which he loves, is not enough, but it comforts me to know he is safe and doesn't need a myriad of shots to protect him from various diseases; 

(He has since eaten and held down a second breakfast. He has had a cuddle and is now asleep.)

Just outside the door, one of our gardens, this one by the composter, at 10 this morning.

Somehow the deer have not eaten this pretty tulip

I'm extra grateful to see it every day for the last 2 weeks

a buttery yellow flower in a bed with my kitschy  found wire decoration

From Forget-Me-Nots to Maples with Lilacs inbetween

The Rhubarb gone to flower 

with Wally's shipping palette laid beyond to block the deer from entering the yard.

I tried to capture the definition of the rhubarb blossoms at the expense of their pale yellow hue

Among the notes I took from my cat health advisers, the inevitable doodle.

One lesson I learned this week was the use of telepathy with my cats. I had already practised it but without nearly as much conviction or results as I learned to from this video about Anna Breytenbach:

The other lesson this week has been to learn Compassion Without Attachment. 

I suffered too much over Muji's health. It would have been better that I remained solidly in my centre, not so undone with worry and torment that I had failed him.  One dear friend said that the acquisition of this quality is experiential, not acquired through rationale. In other words, through the practice of meditation that teaches, by osmosis, the ability to observe all thoughts without judgement.   To care without fear of the outcome, what a state of grace that would be. 

With peace in our hearts, without self judgement, 

witnessing what is as the observer, not the reactor,

we sit in sacred activism.