DancingMermaid » zen teachers*

zen teachers*

thank you friends for all your wonderful suggestions for my feel good mix. you guys are great! its nice to know others move out of their funky-ness with tunes and a little dancing too. i love that it does not take much to transform out of a bad space.
*
i have not written about delilah lately-my master zen teacher. my furball of wisdom. my wacky yoga doing kitty.

ok-have you all seen other cats do this?

not very ladylike. all this was done in the light of day, in
the middle of the sidewalk outside our cottage.

oh-and if you stare at her while she does this, she will
stop and give you the look…as if you have walked
in on her naked. a look that says:
do you mind??

the look:

she is a quirky one, thats for sure.

a few months ago she began acting cranky,
even for her.

it is understandable given
the fact that she is a found stray-
and showed up with a beaten
up old collar one day.

this whole love thing is
still new to her.

she has gotten
a lot better.

but, even so-
all of a sudden she began to get angry-
and started yelling at us.

usually, we would get a sweet little
meow which is code for two things:
i want a treat or i want to go out.

but this god awful sound was different.
it was a growl.

it was a i dislike you people much
sound.

sometimes she would enter the
bedroom just to screech, and then
turn around and leave. nice.
especially at 2 in the morning.

we began to wonder what happened to our delilah girl.

touch made her angry, talking made her angry.
after awhile we started taking it personal.

yes, the cat actually began hurting our human feelings.
regardless,
we gave her love anyway.
maybe even more than usual.
we started to accept that was just
where she was at,
and tried to love her from there.

justin started calling her my zen teacher.

i am a girl that likes to feel in control,
and well, delilah is a wild one.
completely unpredictable.

i learned to just go with it.

when she wanted to cuddle on that rare,
rare occasion, i took it.

it was almost always when i was on my way out,
or just coming home…

and there she would be, flopping on the ground
at my feet wanting her belly rubbed.

no matter how tired or rushed i was,
this energy always put me in a peaceful mood.
i was in the moment,
listening to the waves,
the birds chirping,
the windchimes,
the shuffle of surfers walking
up and down the street.

my shoulders would drop.
my face would relax.

i was as present as i
could possibly be.

i consider it her little gift
to me.

recently justin, who is not only cute but smart-
figured out it was her flea medicine.
we had switched brands, and the new
brand did not work as well.

(and all this time i thought she was pissed
that we stopped giving her roasted chicken.)

pretty soon, she started being cozy,
cozier than we had ever seen her.

she is even sleeping in the bed now…
after sleeping outside for weeks and weeks.
of course she chooses to sleep in between our
heads, and unfortunately for justin, often on his head.

thats our delilah.

we don’t complain,
and are relieved to have figured
out the problem.

who knew, after all this time,
she was just uncomfortable-
and was trying to tell us.

as i type this i look at her snoozing
beside me on the bed,
in a little ball of softness.
she looks perfectly content.

i did not know i could
ever be so attached to a
swirl of fluff and whiskers.
but i am.

she teaches me the beauty
of just being…

and acceptance.

cats are so cool like that.

do your pets teach you anything?
feel free to leave a link to your favorite pet picture.

i am all into that mushy animal cooing thing.

20 Comments so far
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delilah is quite the amazing animal. she has taught me many things, the least of which is having acceptance and unconditional love. she broke my heart many times by being who she was, but I knew that her behavior was nothing more than the product of her previous environment. all of the times i felt rejected from this furry feline, she would make it up to me with a few seconds of affection. magic is what is what i felt , but it was as if I knew that i needed to be on guard for her potential tsunami of anger. She’s quite the pill, that delilah, not living up to her flowery name, nevertheless she is my ‘pookie pie’ and I will love her until the day I die.

Love and beer inspired this post, but not necessarily in that order.

justin

Here is my furry feline’s “do you mind?!” look….
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25819275@N07/2444274675

okay, that comment by justin was just precious. i seriously got a look at who he is and why you two are so great together. (i mean that in the most respectful of ways because, hey, who are we kidding? how much can i really say i know about someone or something by reading a comment? so, yeah. as much as that comment could tell, you and justin are so cute for a reason.)

anyway. hope that made sense!

i love your delilah entries. the pictures always brighten my day and make me ooh and ahh and laugh and smile, and they always make me want to go cuddle my little kitties. of course, solomon is too much of a boy to want any of that cuddly stuff, so i move on to diva, who eats it up so long as i don’t try to squeeze her too tight. she’s a clingy one, that diva, but only on her terms.

i also love your delilah posts because of the language you use when you speak about her. it’s so gentle and caressing and sweet and adoring and loving. i can tell how much you adore that little girl, just in the way you talk about her. i could feel the pain in receiving her anger and ornery-ness and discomfort. those screeches? hello. wow. i love that she’s back to sleeping on and in between your noggins. what a treat and a gift.

by the way, you take the most gorgeous photos of a cat than i’ve ever seen. how do you get your camera to take the shots without them turning out blurry? whenever i try to photograph sollie or diva, they always move at the last minute and i can never get a clear shot. maybe you are lucky and have an instant shutter camera . . .

yep, cats are the most wonderful teachers. i had one adopt me about 10 years ago when i was in a lot of pain and couldn’t handle being around people. he spent a year just hanging out with me whilst i shut myself away from the world. he knew all my secrets. i miss him so much, i had to have him put to sleep as he got really sick. but i know he saved my life a hundred times over. i don’t have any photos of him here, but there’s a cat who lives next door who reminds me a lot of him. thanks for sharing these photos and your story. how blessed you all are to have each other.

Such beautiful photos of your beautiful kitty! And such lovely words - you clearly adore her. It’s so nice to hear she is feeling happy now.
Here’s a link to the introduction I wrote on my blog to my 3 cats (and the chickens and geese!) - complete with photos:
http://moonroot.blogspot.com/2007/11/youve-read-blog-now-meet-cast.html

My dog has been with me through the most devastating and difficult times of my life, as well as the brightest and happiest. She is my travel companion, my cuddle bear, and my exercise partner. She licks the tears from my face and curls up next to me, just letting me be, something most humans are not adept at. Thanks for your post and letting me share about my loving girl.

my kitties teach me so much. my girl sage (seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tinarina/208000490/in/set-72157594579258063/) whispers to me ‘just relax’. my girl leona (seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tinarina/218097659/in/set-72157594579258063/) like to remind me that life is good. these are both lessons that it helps me to learn on a daily basis.

your delilah seems like such a sweetie. my girls were alley cats before they were rescued, so i can completely relate to the very slow process of building trust. it’s so worth it.

oh how I adore this story!! My boogs teach me unconditional love and healing. Here’s a link to my favorite picture of our keely girl (the one that was neglected). She’s so clearly giving me the ‘whatever mom’ look…lol. Adorable!!!

http://dandelionseedss.blogspot.com/2008/05/50-randoms-for-mermaid.html

I’m going to say it. If I could do what Delilah could do, I’d do it everywhere to, people be damned. Just sayin’….

How very beautiful… oh, they do teach us so much love, yes?

Here’s a picture of my handsome baby:

http://storiesicantell.blogspot.com/2008/03/greatfull-friday-tbone.html

Love to you!

(((HUGS))),
Me

We have two cats and one dog and I love them all! http://www.flickr.com/photos/kmk81975/2168252772/in/set-72157601398420064/

I love how you and Justin love your Delilah! Here we have two kitties…and two pups.
What I love about my cats…their fierce independence…and fearlessness. They are not afraid to put a ninety pound dog in it’s place…
What I love about my dogs(Golden Retrievers)…their complete DEPENDENCE…and how they just love love…to give it…to take it…and their ability to play gently with a 10 pound kitty.

We have been blessed to have some wonderful furry souls in our lives…
xoxo

(Oh, and I love Claudia’s comment!)

okay justin, was that JUST beer you were partaking of? love it, love it, love it!
my samantha and alabama teach me patience, unconditional love and how to just be…it is my honor to be the mommy of my dogs…love to you, delilah and j, Me

LOVED this post! My cats teach me so much about life too! Sophie is my wild child and Mr. Fezzywiggs is my Zen master. Brother and sister, both totally different in size, fur length, and personality. May the lessons they teach us live strong in us for a long time. Blessings, katie

I so love kitties, for their quirks and foibles, both. Here is my current favorite kitty, with a bit of a blur as he is in constant motion:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicspir/2451311212/in/set-72157604785098122/
(’mister,’ my bro’s cat.)

Your girl is so pretty …

Sourcie is good for pulling me into the compLete JOy of simply throwing a stick or ball. For being outside, getting our toes wet with grass.fairy dew & getting our paws.hands mucky from exploring.
i turn into my 7 yr. old Self.
She gets joy from just DOing.
I come inside; rosy cheeked & feeling like i’m PARt of Life.

He has also reminded me of the bestess things in life:
Eating
Loving ~ Being Loved
Shnuggling
PLAYing
+
the MOment*

i love him too big to try to fit into words.

i lOVe singing him lullabies & seeing his eYeliDs get heavier…..just like a little boy.

This is Emmy:
http://flickr.com/photos/loosgroov/2464936545/in/photostream/
and this is Sui:
http://flickr.com/photos/loosgroov/2464939485/in/photostream/
and it is funny that my brother put that comment on Sui, because she can’t stand strangers or company of any kind. She’ll jump on our lap, cuddle and love us until the second another human walks through the door. She likes her privacy and space, what can I say. Emmy has the opposite problem and practically breaks the door down to jump and wag her tail and pounce on new people to love. (and she used to be afraid of men, so this is very good) So I guess, among many things, my pets teach me that sometimes you need to be alone, and sometimes you need lots of friends all around you.

OMG….we have a dog, but just recently went through the same thing…and it was her flea medication !!! We tried a new one that the vet offered us, called VECTRA and 12 hours after I applied it, she was flipping out. I called the vet and between me, the pharmaceutical rep. and the company who makes the product, we knew it was a reaction to the medication. We kept her on pain pills for 5 days just to keep her somewhat normal and I had to bathe her in dish detergent to help offset the feeling on her skin that was driving her nuts !!!
Needless to say, we were reimbursed and she will go back to her old stuff next month !!!
{and by the way, the crotch licking picture totally cracked me up}

Are we all needy or what!???
Love is all we need.
Even if its from cats!
I have 2 really amazing
boyfriends I snuggle with.
Winston and Emilio.
My cats.
Yes, Im the cat lady.
Winston is old and crabby
but I love him.
He is the most high maintenance
animal on the planet.
Always itchy. Always stressed.
Always wanting attention.
Then there is Emilio.
He is a big fatty with a raspy
meow.
Thats about all I can say about him. I have pictures but I am lame and dont know how to attach them. Love&Light - Angie

OH! Here are the pix. Im not as lame as I thought. -Angie

http://picasaweb.google.com/angela.marketingpr/Cats

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