Lucy Doodle & Zac Joe Doodle, 2013You all made me so happy this week.
I loved getting so many votes for our favorite animal companion teams from last week’s blog.
About a trillion people responded, or perhaps sixty.
And I love you for responding!
(And of course, I love you folks for not responding, too. Let’s be egalitarian.)
You cracked me up.
I always knew, in the Forest Room at Kripalu, you would do whatever we asked you to do.
“Sure, I will blindfold myself and, with a roomful of total strangers, tiptoe around the room, humming sacred songs, arms expanding into a new openness to life and possibility.”
Your being all-in.
Our being all-in.
You being passionate and committed.
Our being passionate and committed.
That is not dependent upon the Forest Room.
The Forest Room is not here right now.
Yet, we are the Forest Room.
~~~
Animals are the best!
My favorite political lawn sign this year was:
People Suck
~~~
A long time ago, when Lucy and Zac were still alive, they both, with my spouse’s credit card, gave me a book called, Guardians of Being. It is a fantastic little book, with Eckhart Tolle words and art by Patrick McDonnell, the creator of that profound spiritual teacher, Mutts.
It was right down my alley, simple and deep and warm and funny and so right. My dogs did know and support my taste. I will share some of Eckhart’s words, but your imagination will have to create Mutt-like drawings for illustration:
Animals still know. We have forgotten how to be—
To be still, to be ourselves, to be where life is:
HERE AND NOW.
The human says, “I love myself,” or I hate myself.”
The dog says, “Woof, woof,” which translated means
I AM MYSELF.
I call that integrity—being one with yourself.
The dog is still in the natural state. And you can
Easily see that, because you have problems, and your dog doesn’t.
And while your happy moments may be rare,
your dog celebrates life continuously.
Nature will teach you to be still,
If you don’t impose on it a stream of thoughts.
A very deep meeting takes place when
You perceive nature in that way, without naming things.
~~~
Clearly, I cannot remind us of the power of nature and animals without bringing Our Mary Oliver into the conversation. Here is one of my favorite poems in the universe, in the glorious and stunning and balanced universe, by Our Mary:
~~~
My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird—
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.
Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,
which is mostly standing still and learning to be
astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,
which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.
“Messenger” by Mary Oliver, from Thirst
~~~
It was a fevered election, indeed, with much machination concerning the abundance of awesome choices.
One voter said this was a much harder choice for her than the decision she will face on 11/3.
I know you have been very patient and waiting. Here are the results, with human error (me) accounted for:
WE HAD A TIE FOR FIRST PLACE!!
I did not make that up—I swear, we tied.
First place goes to (drumroll:)
- Dog consoling the crying baby!(:33)
- Dog pulling the cat away from a potential altercation! (1:55)
Which to me fully indicates, we so need badly to be consoled, somebody to rock us and comfort us, and equally, we hugely need somebody, something, some fantastic retriever somewhere, to take the leash and pull Us away from catastrophe.
Bless us!
Second place was kitten wiggling its way under the blond doggie’s leg. (:20)
Yes, we do need snuggling and touch. This cat is no fool.
Third place (my personal fav) was dog, tiny rodent on its nose, and cockatiels and parakeet/ridiculousness. (2:25)
Such a strange cuddle-fest of beings!
Five voters refused to choose, saying they loved ALL OF THEM. Please, on 11/3, please do choose.
And the rest of the voting field was divided out, the dog and pigeon claiming the lead in the loser pack. Everybody wins in our contest of animal love-fest.
~~~
Dear friends,
Let us comfort our hearts.
Here is more Pre-Election-Therapy.
I present
These amazing
Beings.
(Thank you, Susan M., for sending them.)
Check out this lovefest.
The companionship.
The support and
The connection.
Dear friends,
To you and yours,
All blessings,
All safety,
Aruni
For years, photographer Tanja Brandt has made it her mission to capture magnificent photos of animals and wildlife. Recently, the German artist found a new challenge when she photographed the unique bond between two unlikely friends: Ingo, a Belgian shepherd, and Poldi (Napoleon), a one-year-old owlet.
The owlet and canine have a special protector-protected relationship. Their affection toward each other couldn’t be any more evident. Ingo lovingly guards Poldi, who apparently doesn’t know how to live free.
The owlet hatched two days after his six brothers and sisters, therefore, has always been very vulnerable due to his small size.
They respect each other and they can read each other, says the photographer.
Announcements
- Wisdom Circle for Thursday, 10/30, @ 2:00—all welcomed! Come as you are.
Here is the link: http://coacharuni.com/thursdaycircles/
~~~
*Title of blog taken from Mary Oliver poem, The Messenger