From the Author
| Wonder and awe and sheer
delight were present from the very beginning as the basis for each
new happening, in my encounter with the cat family. But the thought
of writing about it never occurred to me until I witnessed the superb
parenting skills of the mother cat named Sweetie. Her capacity to
be there for her kids, fully present, offering them whatever she had
to give—without an ounce of intrusion—seemed very different
from our human parenting. Natural maternal
cat care does not impose anything external. I remember thinking,
“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if as part of prenatal training,
prospective mothers could witness the joyous naturalness of cat mothering.”
This hands-on experience could be of real value for any new parent,
or any person, for that matter.
Then as the story unfolds, other major surprises emerged such as the tricks of maya—not knowing and knowing I don’t know, yet still surmising anyway. Being in a foreign culture, totally ignorant of semi feral cat ways in that environment, I found myself perceiving things piecemeal, without really taking in the whole picture. But don’t we humans tend to do that all the time without even realizing it? Through observing this slice of life with the cats, time and again I found myself face to face with my own misperceptions, the mysterious, the limitedness of my human “knowledge,” as well as the knowledge of “experts.” Though some of my bunglings were humorous and make for a good story, their real value appear only gradually, as my consciousness begins to connect the mundane workings of cat maya to the larger workings of universal nature—until nothing remains segmented. The sacred and the mundane are not separate but part of one mysterious whole. And these precious felines set the scene for allowing me a speck of entry into this realm of wholeness. Another dimension of the story that I wanted to share is a process—a way of inner work, which I hope shines through the pages of the book. Through observing my self in the moment as part of each happening, inner and outer, through noticing my thoughts or movements in the mind, hopefully without getting too stuck in them—whether correct or incorrect—this way of being in the world can lead us closer to sheer awareness, to truth. Intermingled with the process, questions regarding good and evil surface, in response to the simple happenings of daily life. Throughout the ages, humanity has valued the cat goddess as a manifestation of the divine presence here on earth. Sweetie taught me something of great value in this regard. Just as the mother cat feeds her babies by simply being there with her milk pouring forth, without arranging it so the infants can suckle equally, or without instructing them personally regarding the art of drinking fairly, so this subtle, cosmic Divine Mother of the universe, known as Mother Nature, is here for her children, ever nourishing and protecting without getting involved in the individual hows, whys or wherefores. In this way, the cat mother can be viewed as an archetype of the Great Mother Goddess, here in the fullness of her giving—just giving. The way we receive this nourishment and continue to nurture it ongoingly, determines the outcome of our individual lives, as well as the life of the planet. |
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