The Joy of Servitude

There are two queens of the castle and there is one servant. There are only three entities in the castle, not counting the plants. Only three entities, yet there are two queens. What kind of queendom is that?

One of the queens is a dog named Shawnee and the other is a cat named Taco. They rule the castle with absolute authority. There is only one servant in the castle and the two queens must share this servant. I happen to be that servant. I am the lone human in the castle and somehow I ended up with the servant job.

I'm a good servant. I do as I'm told and I put up with all manner of idiosyncrasies. I get to feed her majesties and I also get to clean up cat and dog vomit. Both of the queens are geriatric now. In dog or cat years, I've been collecting animal hair for around one hundred years. I have collected enough hair to knit a sweater big enough to wrap around the entire solar system. It's too bad I know nothing about how to knit.

I have found that it is extraordinarily difficult for me to go more than a few hours away from my masters. It's not easy to leave the castle but I must in order to continue serving and supplying the queens. I cannot help but think about how my masters are doing back at the castle without my servitutde.

Animals are such great masters. I strive to be a great servant to them. They have so much to teach and I have so much to learn. It's no wonder we live together alone in a big castle. How lucky am I to have, not one, but two grand teachers; two queens to serve? To be a loving servant to an animal is one of the grandest and most energizing dharmic jobs you can get. But it's one of the jobs where you don't apply for it, but rather it is assigned to you. Of course, you signed up for it long ago but it still seems to be thrust upon you. When a queen comes and taps you on the shoulder, indicating that it is time for you to step up, you feel honored and willingly accept your task. You surrender and step into the role with enthusiasm and excitement. You don't wonder if that enthusiasm and excitement will still be there 15 years later. You just give it all your love.

How sweet it would be to deal with other humans in the same way.

I am an ignorant human living in the presence of two god-creatures. I am extraordinarily lucky because these two god-creatures are fantastic teachers. What I learn is utterly dependent on how good of a student I am. A student serves a teacher much like a servant serves a queen. How well that student learns corresponds to how well that student serves their master. How well that student learns also corresponds to how well they can go beyond the teacher/student dualism. The best way to go beyond it is through it. The best way to go through anything is to love it.

I love my doggie and kitty with all my being.

They are my lords and masters. One day I will be a fully-fledged god just like them. I'm working on it.

Copyright © 2007, by White Feather. All Rights Reserved.

The Writings of White Feather