Lessons From A Kitten

Two weeks ago, while quietly sitting at home with a cup of tea, a new being came into my life.

As many of you know, I love cats. Not in the way that people love a good meal. I mean, I LOVE CATS! (Say it to yourself with same emotion as you would say, “I love chocolate!” See what I mean??) I currently share my home with five cats, ranging from 1 year old to 10 years old. I wasn’t exactly looking for another one.

But at 7:30 at night, while quietly sipping a cup of tea and reading a good book, the unmistakable screams of a terrified kitten came from my garden. Equipped with a flashlight (and mosquito repellent), I ventured into the dusk to do the required kitten-detective-work: Where was the rascal? Could I catch it? Was it hurt? Where was its mother? Why do they always come to MY house?

To make a long story short, I eventually did catch her, a six-week-old ball of furious spitting and hissing. At first, she was too frightened to leave the bedroom. Now, two weeks later, she is master of the house! The older cats tolerate her; the youngest, Calypso (see photo above), adopted her as his own “new best friend” within days of her arrival. After a two-week search for a name, we’ve agreed that “Maggie” fits her perfectly.

As an observer of life around me, I’ve re-learned some important lessons in the past two weeks:

• We are born with the capacity to fear those who are trying to love us. Trust is something that is earned over time by repeated, consistent acts of love, compassion and respect.
• We all have gifts to offer the world; no one’s gift is “better” than another’s. To a kitten, a warm home, good food, and a new best friend is the best gift of all.
• One of the reasons we are here on Earth is to help one another. You need not devote every waking moment to helping others; look for small occurrences in life where you can offer help and comfort.
• Miracles come in the smallest packages. Be open to the flow of the Universe.

Welcome home, little Maggie.