Happy Caturday: walking exercise to lose weights.

On sunny days, I would try to persuade my orange cats to exercise in the banana grove nearby. They used to run after me like puppies when they were younger. Now they would linger in the front yard and pretended that they didn’t hear my calling. Very often I had to collect my cat, one by one, to be deposited in the banana grove. Theses were too lazy to walk to the field next door. I thought they be wary of stray dogs that used the banana grove as a short cut towards the fishermen’s village.

Once they were among wild grasses and fruit trees, orange cats would start to explore and sniff around for strangers’ scents. Kwan seemed to like to test on wet earthen patch. Perhaps that patch was cooler and just right for glooming herself. The bigger cat, Joan would slowly stalk around wild grasses and hide quietly. So, I had to start chasing my cats around the fields, by making loud noises and running towards them. If they were in playful mood, they would get up and run around finding a good hiding place.

It’s funny that my orange cats thought they would become invisible among grasses. Their colours and size just gave away their hiding places. I had to tiptoe to surprise them so that they would run away to safer hiding places. We would place this game often and they seemed to get used to me chasing after them. So, sometimes when they had enough of running around, they would just lie down in surrender as I approached them. These cats had complete trust in me and knew that I would never harm them. That’s why it’s so easy to give them medicine; I could just open their mouths and drop the small tablet in without any protest.

Lately, the two cats have become good friends with my gardener. They allowed her to touch them and they would tell her when they wanted more food in the evening. These cats were amazingly receptive and sensitive. Whenever they sensed that I was upset about something, my cats would come to sleep under my chair and be close enough to give me some moral support. They took my attention off my worries and made me live in the present moment.

I guess cats and other animals live moment to moment as they don’t plan for the future like humans. They don’t read forecasting reports or analysis on global financial conditions. They don’t keep years of memories in their heads so they don’t get affected by past mistakes or emotional incidents. All their energies are focused on the present world around them on which there existence and survival depend. I just wish I could be spot on attentive from moment to moment sometimes.

My thoughts just jump around like wild monkeys so it’s very difficult to be calm and collected most of the time. I had to remind myself of my breathing and just watch what’s going on inside my head. Somehow, the attention on the breathing would manage to calm my mind and all the fuzzy noises just disappeared leaving a clear mind to think clearly and logically. I wish I could maintain this clarity and attentiveness all the time. My orange cats would be reminding me about living in the present and to be grateful of all the blessings I have in this lifetime.

Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.

Stay strong and cheerful.