The Way Of The Buddha

This is my dream come true. My blurry, furry scaredy cat. This is Buddha. We have been together for just over 2 months. In that short time, he has taught me many things. Patience is near the top of the list, due to his skittish ways, after spending 2 years in cat shelters. Trust is one notch above patience, with the lesson it must be earned through repetition of positive, unhurried offerings. At the very top of the list of the teachings of Buddha is the new understanding that dreams come to us disguised.

Last autumn, when I decided to adopt a companion for my young cat, Remmington, I declared a list of wishes to the Universe. This new cat needed to be friendly, lovable and playful. A best friend to Remmi. I asked that the 2 cats would be so bonded they would nap together. I asked for a minimum of disagreements between them. I asked for a non-destructive cat, as Remmi had already done his share to alter the look of my home. Buddha, it turns out, has supplied all that and more.

Although Buddha is still nervous when I am upright or walking, preferring to get his love-pets when I'm less imposing, he is the very best of friends with Remmington. They chase each other, eat out of the same bowl at the same time, hide side by side under my bed, and sleep curled up together on a burgundy, fleece blanket. Remmi licks Buddha's head profusely and has decided that long, stripey tail is his very favorite toy. They have argued once. This feline scenario is everything I asked for.

But I almost didn't recognize it. I declared my wishes for a companion cat, and at the same time formulated a vision of how that wish should be granted. What the qualifying cat should look like and act like from the start. Because of my imposing, controlling visions, I initially dismissed Buddha the first time I saw him. He seemed to offer none of my wishes, cowering behind a chair, even though the little Universal bread crumb trail led me right to him. It took me 3 weeks of scavenging cat shelters, with not a single, viable candidate, to finally understand the Universe chose Buddha to fulfill my wishes. When I was able to let go of how I thought the wish should be granted, the message became loud and clear. And Buddha finally got a home.

From now on, I will live the way of the Buddha. I will ask for my needs and my dreams to be met, but I will cease to impose my own narrow ways on the outcomes and the answers. I will send up my prayers, apply patience and trust in a power much greater than me, and look for fulfillment outside the confines of my ego. I will stop limiting myself. I will stop interfering with the natural flow of goodness. I will open my mind and my heart and let my dreams come true.