My former cat companion, Xena, was a true priestess who navigated life with grace, poise and detachment. She was every bit the elegant lady, but even she had moments of being frazzled. What she modeled so well was her ability to regain her composure easily and effortlessly after a moment of imbalance.
I remember one particular morning, as I was getting ready for work, I opened the linen closet to get something and didn’t see her sneak in. In a rush to get to work, I shut the linen closet and left. When, I came home that evening, I soon heard a mournful, bleating meow coming from somewhere in the house. I searched and searched and finally identified the sound as coming through the linen closet door. When I opened it, she came frantically rushing out of the very disheveled closet where everything on the lowest shelf and floor was over-turned and jumbled together. I looked at the chaos and immediately realized what had happened. I felt terribly guilty that she had been stuck in there all day. How could I not have seen her go in? What kind of cat mom was I?
Xena, in her mastery, trotted into my bedroom, gave one last exasperated meow, then literally shook it off and went about her usual business. I could feel her energy shift, even though mine hadn’t because I’d yet to forgive myself. I checked in with guidance about whether there was anything I could do for her and heard that she had been annoyed at the experience but was already over and done with it. She had completely let go of the entire event. I heard from my Soul to do the same.
I share this bit of feline wisdom for all of us during these sometimes stressful and uncertain times. Animals are often great models of being so in the moment that once a stressful situation has passed, they are able to re-focus their attention immediately to whatever is happening in that next moment. Since most stress comes from our negative beliefs about the past or fear of the future, the greatest peace comes from allowing ourselves to fully relax into the Divine Now. I know that it’s sometimes easier said than done, but what a great opportunity to work with our own version of shaking it off as we bring ourselves back to this present moment.
picture courtesy of Pixabay