July 5

PATIENCE MONTH: DAY 5: “The years I have squandered in puerile excitement, in going hither and thither, in seeking to force nature and time, I ought to have spent in solitude and meditation, in endeavoring to make myself worthy of being loved.” ― Théophile Gautier

I really loved this quote the minute I read it…a new one for me; and how funny, because I had a conversation with a friend a day or so before that where I told them how much I loved the time I spend in solitude and meditation. Some of my friends are very social, and have to be at every gathering, going out of their way quite often, to do so. I am inclined to accept very few invitations. Truth be told, I have been left feeling less than satisfied with many social events; but never with meditating or with spending time alone, no matter what I am doing. One of my favorite Einstein quotes (def. one of my heroes in this life!) is “There is something completely restorative about being alone. Not much facilitates it as well as the Sea.” And I conquer completely. I enjoy my friends and spending time with them on occasion, but there are only a handful that I seek to do that with. And I don’t really care so much about the part of this quote that speaks to me being worthy of being loved. I am quite happy with the striving to give love to others, especially as it pertains to being of service. I spent nearly an hour this morning watching the 3 new kittens playing in my gardens…and listening to the hawk in the tree next door, then watching the adults teaching their young to hunt for an hour or so. My friends were here and we found names for the kittens, not knowing what their sex is, because I have not been able to capture them yet. That will come and I will get them fixed and determine their sex at the time of capture. For now, their names are Maverick, Wyatt, and Annie Oakley.  Their mission in life is to destroy the gardens I spend my afternoons working on…I plant, they kill…life is so wonderful for kittens! And the hawks make me so happy, because they are magnificent creatures that are always somewhere close to me, wherever I live. So I get to enjoy my solitude and some entertainment. Things we rush around and miss when we are doing the going hither and thither in life. There is a great big squash plant that has spread over about ½ of my lawn and the kitties are playing hide and seek in the big leaves…they do not know it isn’t a jungle and that they aren’t really tigers and leopards…and I am not going to tell them. The joy they bring to my life is amazing and the blessing is mine. I cannot capture their mama, this is her 3^rd litter in a year. I am capturing all the cats I can in my neighborhood and feeding them. I have fixed all but this mama cat…she is too wily to be caught, so I do what I can with her babies. And I get the benefit of the fun they have playing on my flowers and plants. And I watch the hawk family to make sure they don’t zoom in to eat the kitties. It isn’t up to me, but I do what I can, that is my part. Life is pretty darned good like this. I could ask for a lot of money and travel to exotic places, but I am perfectly content to sit with what is going on in my life today. And I find that being content is the best gift of all. That is only possible with the application of the 12 steps I have come to love and honor and cherish and apply to all my affairs…now I have to stop Annie Oakley from swinging on a lily…bet you never thought you’d hear me say that one, did you????