Aging Cactophile Monarch

Have you ever noticed how the letters for the word cat are in the word cactus? For me, that is only appropriate because my kitty cat companion, Taco, is a genuine cactus lover. She has a fondness for all the cacti I have spread throughout the house. I am constantly picking cat hair off my cacti because she uses them to brush her hair!

It's almost painful to watch her gently rub her face across the very sharp cactus thorns. "Doesn't that hurt?" I've asked her. But she never replies. Apparently, it is rude to ask questions while the queen is brushing her hair.

My cat is a queen. For over 15 years she has only lived indoors. She's a house cat and the house is her domain. She is the supreme ruler. Within her domain she is fearless and walks with regal authority. The dog knows that she's the boss and I know it, too. With her good grace I am allowed to live in her home with her (and pay rent). She also allows her sister Shawnee to live in her domain. Shawnee will show Taco some queenly respect--although there is a limit to how much of Taco's fantasies she can endure.

I am but a mere lowly serf but I take pride in my job of feeding the queen and attending to her every need. With pride and joy I pluck the cat hair off my cacti and I never ever complain.....not even when I get pricked. I may never know what it's like to rub my face over a cactus but I have at least witnessed such an event through my queen and in the process was made to think about how complementary opposites can actually be. The softness of a kitty kitty and the brutal sharpness of cactus thorns can come together in a beauteous way. There is much to think about in that regard. And it's all thanks to Taco, my lord and master and queen.

Copyright © 2006, by White Feather. All Rights Reserved.

Wood

I've been thinking about wood lately. I should have been thinking about wood back during summer. Back in the late Eighties and early Nineties I heated my homes with wood. I spent countless hours chopping wood, stacking wood, and hauling wood. Although it has been well over a decade since I was immersed in the wood gestalt I still remember that you don't wait until the first snow to start thinking about wood. You start thinking about wood in July.

I knew this back in July but I guess I just wasn't ready to dive back into the wood gestalt. Besides, I just had too many other things to think about back then.

Back on Monday we had our third snow of the season. The nights have already dipped below nippy. There is no longer any way to avoid thinking about wood.

This is not a picture of my woodpile. It's a picture of someone's woodpile down the street. I'd share a picture of my woodpile but I don't have one yet. Well, okay, there were a few logs left over from someone's woodpile years ago that I gathered together but it's only a week or two's worth--and I've already gone through half of it.

But I have been gathering kindling the last few days and I probably have a few weeks worth gathered. And I gathered it all under the three massive pine trees in my yard. Is wasn't just the cold that inspired me to do this. It was also Trendle, the magic kindler. I was thinking about her as I gathered kindling under those trees today in a howling wind. I wondered if Trendle put her hair up before she gathered kindling. Today I didn't and I ended up with more hair in my eyes and mouth than wood in my buckets. Three days ago we still had beautiful colored leaves on the trees but the wind has been so fierce the last two days that there are suddenly almost no leaves left on the trees.

Those winds!

Ah, the crackling of a good warm fire. It makes one relax just thinking about it.

Yup, I've been thinking about wood lately.

Copyright © 2006, by White Feather. All Rights Reserved.

Peristalsis

The universe works much like our colon. In order for there to be movement and growth peristalsis must occur; the wavelike muscular contractions that propel matter forward. We go from one wave to another and another and another. These waves create cycles. We go through polarites by experiencing the opposite ends of a spectrum. We go through a male/active cycle and then immediately go into a female/passive cycle. And then back again and again.

We go through periods where everything seems to be happening without then we slide right into cycles where everything is happening within. The shift we are completing, which began near the end of last year and which is coming to completion around Thanksgiving, was a without cycle--one of the biggest the planet has ever had. We have our two-month landing time and after that we have another two-month grace period. It will be fantastic!

But then we enter a within time. This within cycle will last roughly as long as the without cycle. This is when the planet really starts changing. The state of the planet is, after all, a direct reflection of what is within us.

Prepare to experience depths of "within-ness" you've never experienced before. Prepare to come closer to your true self than you ever have in a body.

But first, we must focus on the landing. This landing is one of the greatest gifts humankind has ever received. So let's not get ahead of our selves.

But know that where ever we land will be within. Our hearts are one of the main coordinates we must use to navigate a safe landing into our creations. We create from within. We are on the verge of doing some wondrous and outrageous creating.

Feel the waves. Feel them flowing through you. Offer no resistance. Let everything flow. Use the air to glide into your landing.

Copyright, © 2006 by White Feather. All Rights Reserved.

Sea Grotto

Sea Grotto, Copyright © 2006, by White Feather. All Rights Reserved.

Stories

What if there were no stories? What would life be like without ever hearing a story or seeing a story or telling a story? We paint our landscape with stories because we love stories.

How important are stories in cementing the bonds of relationships? How important are stories in explaining life? Would you rather read a story or read a factual account of something?

Do you only listen or watch stories or do you write them? Or are you equally involved in both the writing and the actual living of the story? Are you a writer, an actor, or a director? Or an audience member? We have scripts for stories that were written long ago. We have newer scripts and we also can ad lib, writing as we go.

Do you like your story? Are you happy with it?

Listen to the wind. There are many new stories blowing in the wind. Let them flow through you as you try them on. While these stories flow through you project a whole new story ahead through the oncoming stories flowing through you. Keep a two-way conduit going and see how things change.

Take ownership of all that you have written but especially what you are in the process of writing. Embrace it. Feel all the stories for the divine creations they are.

And as with all stories, look for the subtleties.

Copyright © 2006, by White Feather. All Rights Reserved.

Leaves

While September is surely the most beautiful month around where I live, October can give September a run for its money. Sure it can get pretty darn-tootin' cold in October but we still have several beautiful warmish days. October is the month I get to hear the heavenly sound of leaves crunching underfoot. I do a lot of walking so I'll be doing a lot of crunching. The vibrations of the sound of those crunching leaves awakens a certain part of the old noggin that I like to call the October lobe. When the neurons in that lobe become activated--through the sound of crunching leaves underfoot--excitement and joy are also activated.

Of course, first I have to be over the sadness that develops as the leaves first turn color heralding the end of summer. It's always sad letting go of summer. But once those leaves are on the ground in October and the crunching begins then joy and excitement return. October is an exciting month.

Thank goodness for deciduous trees!

Copyright ©2006, by White Feather. All Rights Reserved.

Photo Copyright ©2006, by White Feather. All Rights Reserved.