Learning from our Feline Beauty

When I see a cat sitting quietly, gazing out the window with sun light coming through, he/she looks very wise as if he/she is a saint just descended from heaven. I cannot stop wondering, “There must be some very important message that they want to give me about life”.

Have you ever wondered the same thing?

What have I learned from my meowing teachers so far?

• Unconditional acceptance without judgment
• Be here and be present
• Full expression of self (not when they are in pain – they try to hide it)
• Directness
• Kindness (Sensitivity to others)
• Sharing (space, love, and feelings)
• Knowing how to please one’s self
• Self protection
• Strong intuition
• Cleanliness

 
Cats don’t always look like a saints or wise Zen teachers. When my cats go up on the kitchen counter, I see a slow-learning, mean creature who challenges me with my patience. What is this gap between a Zen teacher and a mean little bugger?

It is about perspective and an acceptance without judgment. When I interpret my cat’s behavior through “a pair of human glasses” and “judge” her as if she is a human, she is a bad cat and an annoyance. However, the anatomical truth is that a cat does not have prefrontal lobe in her brain, so she never recognizes future consequences resulting from her current action – she has no way of knowing what she is doing is not what her “roommate” dislikes. She is using her instinctive drive to find some food because she can smell it!

It is an on-going learning for me to accept people and animals for who they are without judgment. It is a quite a stress-free learning experience because my feline teachers never criticize nor judge me with grades!!