Boris Bill, knight in shining cat:

Yes!  This is Boris.  He was fondly named Boris by a good woman who worked at the shelter.  She really cared about Boris and all the other animals, it was clear she has a heart of gold for them.   We added the William Sweet Potato after we adopted him.  He goes by Boris, Borie or Boris Bill on most days, but every once in a while he loves to hear his whole name.  His story with us started about six months after we adopted Abigail.  That was back in June of 2003, already six and a half years ago!   It all began like this:

It was a nagging feeling, I kept pushing aside.  It was not practical.  It was not logical.  It was unnecessary.  Have you ever had a thought nag at you like this??  And even though you felt it was not the most logical nagging thought in the world, you finally gave in and listened to it?  Well, that is what happened with me.  What was it asking of me?  The nagging feeling was saying: “Go back to the shelter.  Go back and see the cats there again.”  That persistent illogical nagging thought led me to a very exceptional cat.  And I now know that persistent nagging was a very loving angel who thought I would eventually listen and respond.  That angel was right.  And the cat was Boris.

Before I tell you more about Boris and his story, he has asked me to talk with you about the nagging feeling I had and the nature of shelters.  Boris wants you to think about this:

Within that nagging thought I experienced, I kept thinking of all the cats we saw at the shelter when we adopted Abigail. I don’t believe it is right that millions of cats and dogs are killed at shelters each year, because homes and resources cannot be found for them.  This defies logic and compassion.  We do not kill people when they are homeless or over populated, or if someone does, they are criminals and/or insane.

I do not see a difference in the value of life for one living being over another.  I place great value to any life.  True, if an animal I don’t know dies, it does not devastate me as losing a family member or a friend does.   We don’t always feel the pain and grief of loss when a human, a stranger dies either though.  It all depends on relationship, attachment and compassion.

Any action to kill is a violence to life itself.

“Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I vow to cultivate compassion and learn ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants and minerals.  I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to condone any act of killing in the world, in my thinking and in my way of life.” -Thich Naht Hanh, expressing the 1st of The Five Wonderful Precepts of Buddhism in his book, Living Buddha, Living Christ.

True, there are kind, relatively good human beings who perform slaughters on animals for various reasons:  To maintain a balance of health in wild areas–compensating for the loss of other predators–due to poor stewardship of habitats & sprawling human communities.   To feed themselves and others.  Not to mention ‘mercy killing’, as in euthanizing a person or animal who is suffering beyond our help.  Also, there are kind and good human beings that kill (in some way or another, myself included at times, ie: fish and mosquitos) or who enjoy watching programs and movies about killing, without realizing why, or questioning if doing so is for the common good.

Even my cat Boris, who I consider to be exceptionally kind and good, well, he kills.  He kills birds, mice and sometimes even a vole, if I am not attentive enough to stop him.  He kills with a passion, as if he wishes to become the animal he is hunting.  When a cat brings you an animal they have killed they bring it as one would bring home a gift, with great pride.  I have always noticed that any poor animal Boris has killed looks so peaceful.  Boris sings loudly to them as he kills them, and if he isn’t bringing them as a gift to us, then he is devouring every bit of the animal, leaving not one bit behind.  I have to respect that kind of passion.  Regardless of my choice to abstain from eating animals.  I cannot look at Boris and be angry with him for who he is.  And I have talked to him about this.  And we have made a deal.  I feed him before he goes outside and then he spends his time resting under a cedar or under a plant and enjoys nature, that is all.  He is content with that, and he hears me a little, when I have expressed to him — he doesn’t need to kill, I don’t need or want him to kill.

Killing has been an instinctual part of survival for so very long.  I am sure if I was starving I would consider killing an animal in order to survive.  I wouldn’t want to.  It would be a last resort.  The unique and precious part of human beings (and some animals) is that we have the grace to choose not to kill.  We can exercise a restraint in our actions in order to fulfill a deeper instinct, a spiritual instinct that seeks healing, balance, compassion and reverence in place of violence, fear, greed and hate.

I never thought I would even talk about killing, as that is a word that does not often frequent my speech.  Yet, Boris has asked me to do so.  In the realm of killing, there can be compassion.  Tho it will forever be a dichotomy and paradox to express this.  Nevertheless, when I explain, you will understand right away.  A hunter or animal who kills only in order to feed self and family is killing with compassion, there is a respectability to that.  That killing is knit into the “circle of life” and within that circle is communion, gratitude and reverence for the nourishment and sacrifice.  While, I prefer to live as a vegetarian/vegan, I can appreciate this reality without judgement or problem of conscience.

Killing to solve problems, killing for sport or pleasure, killing when one has no hunger or real need to, this is when we must ask ourselves, what is necessary, ethical and what is the correct response for the common good?  for our spiritual health?  for our hearts, souls and the future?

One choice is to not support or frequent shelters that kill.  No kill shelters are a blessing, to be sure.  But then I look at Boris.  I look at Abigail, and our dog, Miss Honey.  They could have/would have been killed.  We saved their lives.  I can never believe that it is wrong to “support” a shelter that kills if it results in a saved life and a new beloved family member.  If you saved one person from an impending death, by paying a fee, would you consider that supporting the ‘death camp’, or saving a life?  The reality is, they will be saved or they will be injected with something fatal.

One year on tv, the shelter was doing a fundraiser.  Part of the news coverage included a scene showing 15 or 20 animals all “put to sleep” laying in a row.  Then the news anchor reported, this was hard to see, the hard facts, the sad outcome of no adoptions and not enough room in the shelter.  This is unacceptable, yes, horrid.  But I prefer the truth of it be in the open, before our eyes, rather than hidden and out of people’s minds, such as with factory farms, with cosmetic and medial testing on animals; where animals of all kinds are mutilated and tortured horrifically before they are killed or left to die.  Many people eat or wear products from the dead animals who suffered a no life without stopping to realize what has been going on behind factory and lab doors.

When I walked into the shelter where Boris was, I could only feel that lives were there waiting to be saved. Some were desperate, others depressed, some sick, some young and naive.   I looked at each animal, blessed them, assured them that they belong to God and pray that they may find homes that are loving and fulfilling for each of them. I also prayed for each to feel God’s presence with them always.  Much as I did with people in the hospital.  And if Francis of Assisi could preach to the animals about Jesus, then I sure can offer my prayers and presence for them as well, without question.  Visiting shelters and other places where animals are housed, is not much different from visiting a human who is imprisoned or homeless.  It is an active compassion to step into a place that is undesirable in order to reach out to living beings who are caged.  Loving presence is a gift.

This is what Boris wished you to hear before hearing his story.  He was one of those who would have more than likely died at the shelter in the prime of his life.  Knowing him as I do, I cannot imagine such a senseless loss.

So here is his story:

Boris was the first cat I saw when I walked into the cat section of the shelter.  He was miserable and annoyed.  He had just been bathed and was trying to deal with the lack of dignity he felt.  I tuned into him right away.  He showed me how disgusted he was with it all, as he tried to groom his damp fur.  Three college age girls oohed and awwed over him, as I moved on to look at the other kitties.  Boris is a handsome fellow.  Whenever people first see him, they are taken aback by his charisma and handsomeness.  Those girls wanted to take him home.  I found myself reacting to this, thinking, they won’t take care of him the way he needs.  I caught myself:  what was I thinking?  We had two cats at home, a third was out of the question.  Jeff definitely would not be open to a third cat.

The woman who named Boris, who worked at the shelter, was someone I knew because we had served in AmeriCorps together.  I began asking her about Boris.  She told me his story.  Boris was neutered and declawed.  He had been found on the freeway, in an area that was fenced in and had been dumped there long enough to be completely and utterly dirty.  She explained that cats only get that dirty when they have given up.  He was around a year old and quite thin.  He had come in with a cold that they had been treating.  He had just come out from a week of isolation in the back of the shelter.

She went back to check on some new cats.  Meanwhile, my heart was now completely set on saving Boris.  There was no way I could hear his story and not fall for him.  I had liked him instantly.  He was too upset to ask me or choose me.  I just knew he needed me and that we could help him and give him the security and health he needed.  Normally, Jeff and I make decisions together.  This time I felt an urgency that caused me to breach that agreement.

I went out front and applied for an adoption of Boris.  Then I went back and told my friend who named him that I wanted to adopt him and I promised her I would give him a loving home.  She knew that we had adopted Abigail 6 months before.  I was hoping she would put in a good word for me.

Calling Jeff that day to tell him that I had gone out on a limb without him was difficult, and a little funny I suppose.  He loved the name Boris, being a big Boris Karloff fan.  So that helped right away.  And as I explained everything to him, he softened and accepted that we have a common vision and he trusted that.  But he kept saying, “Three cats.  Three cats.…”

I got a call from the shelter a few days later that Boris had been put back in isolation minutes after I had left.  He still had the cold that was contagious.  They said they would keep him for two weeks on antibiotics in isolation and then we were free to have him.  The adoption was accepted!  We waited a week and then we couldn’t stand the anticipation.  I called to see how Boris was doing.  I insisted on taking him home right away rather than waiting another week.  I agreed to keep him away from the other cats and they agreed that he could recover more quickly outside of a cage in isolation.  We couldn’t believe it, the people at the shelter said if I hadn’t gone to see Boris exactly at the time I did, he wouldn’t have found a home.  He was literally put back in isolation the minute I left.  They said especially a cat that is sick that long usually isn’t put out for adoption or kept alive.

Boris came home to us on Father’s day.  So Boris was a great father’s day gift for Jeff.  And Jeff was not disappointed.  Boris has so many endearing and valiant qualities about him.  His presence is enchanting.  When we brought him home, I brushed him.  I brushed and brushed him, and more and more cat hair came out.  I had a garbage bag full of his hair!  He didn’t go bald amazingly.  I had never seen such a thing.  I took him to the vet.  The vet oohed and awed over Boris and talked baby talk to him unabashedly!  I stood open mouthed amazed that this usually reserved vet was also so enchanted by Boris.  Lol.  The vet explained to me, that Boris lost the hair due to extreme stress.  From being dumped on the freeway, giving up on his own survival, to the shelter and being sick and in isolation…he had been through a lot…so much that it was traumatic.

Boris, like Abigail, showed us right away how grateful he was for a meal.  Every time they ate they would make sure to come over and rub against me and thank me for it before taking a nap.  Boris was not as affectionate as Abigail.  He loved us, we could tell, and got along with Aubrey and Abigail, but a part of him was reserved.

A couple things he did passionately right away tho:

1.  He fell in love with Abigail and began kissing and cuddling her (much to Abigail’s surprise, as she thought she wasn’t going to like having a newcomer).

2.  He decided that he would adopt our daughter Samara and take it as his job to watch over her every night (which he has done for the last 6 1/2 years).

3.  He comes to anyone’s rescue who he thinks may need help.  This last job he took is what is really endearing about him.  Once I accidentally closed a door on Abigail’s tail.  It was not hard enough to hurt her, but it scared her and she cried out.  Boris came running from another room, his tail puffed out like a feather duster.  He wanted to help her.  He kissed her and made sure she was alright.  I, of course, apologized. When someone cries out, he comes running like a sweet knight.     Also, when I was sick he did not leave my side.  He is like an angel or a blessed nurse when someone is ill.

About six months after we adopted Boris he had a mood change.  He became angry and aggressive.  I took him to the vet.  He was perfectly healthy, they said.  And we talked about all he had gone through before coming to our family.   The vet said that Boris is traumatized and is experiencing a depression from the trauma.  He prescribed an anti-depressant that Boris would take for 3 months to remember how to feel normal again.  I was amazed.  And I was so happy when after 3 months and the medicine was done, Boris was feeling good again.  He has remained that way.  Though it took at least two years for Boris to really trust us fully and show real affection to us consistently. He was hesitant, especially about Jeff, which makes me think there was perhaps a man in his past who had scared or hurt him.  Now Boris absolutely adores Jeff.  He smiles so big at him.  When Boris smiles his mouth opens and his eyes twinkle.  Jeff says his smile reminds him of Don Knotts. Lol.

Now he is as affectionate and bonded to us as Abigail is.  Where Abigail likes to be babied though, Boris likes to be his own guy, have it his way.  He wants to call the shots during the day and cuddle like a sweet child at night.  He has a wide eyed take-everything-in kind of way about him.  And woah, can he can be bossy and demanding!  But,  I never forget how he watches over Samara each night and watches over us like a nurse when we are sick.  So, when he is knocking things off my desk in order to get me up to do what he wants me to do right then and there, I remember how truly good he is.  Our family would not be the same without him.

Brutal arrests at the RNC and an Insider’s look at Palin

A difficult part of this week is in seeing evidence of our civil rights, yet again, being obstructed and/or taken away. This being done in the name of Homeland Security and for the sake of business.

There are stories of police in St. Paul using excessive force, brutality and keeping Veterans for Peace and CODEPINK away from the Republican National Convention grounds altogether. There is even report of people being raided at their homes because they are known to protest.

Visit TruthOut.org for insightful, experienced coverage of the excessive force used by police at the RNC in St. Paul by Michael Winship.

Another excellent site covering these violations of our Democracy is Dandelion Salad here at WordPress, and especially the article written by Bruce Gagnon, as he reports on site at the RNC, check out these facts, because you won’t see them on the evening news tonight—-HERE http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com.

To the other difficult part of the week, as much as some may be impressed by John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate, I am so not. Palin’s beliefs are not even a little aligned with mine. Nor would I ever vote for a person based solely on their anatomy. That would be a travesty.

To know more about Palin, such as, an “insider’s view” of her, I would recommend you visit AKMuckraker’s Alaskan view of the Republican running mate at http://mudflats.wordpress.com.

Start with the post entitled, “What was McCain thinking?”  Too many good posts to choose from actually.  Thanks mudflats!

Many thanks and support go to the thousands of protesters in Minnesota right now, in prison and out, and to Jon Stewart and The Daily Show, who are bravely protesting (in their own way), and helping to keep many of us sane and hopeful.

with gratitude and yes, hope,

Chandra

Oprah, Lisa Ling and Freegans, Oh My!

This is interesting! I am really impressed with Oprah Winfrey as she is delving into and encouraging involvement with Eckhart Tolle’s new book, “A New Earth”, and now, in today’s program, about Freeganism.

Tolle’s book and the ten week class he and Oprah are offering are about mindfulness and the raising of consciousness. Freeganism, I learned today, is a political stance by people, to not be consumers as much as possible, and to retrieve from our garbage what needn’t be wasted. This is a great hope, and a natural progression, as it seems a just response in so many ways. Lisa Ling did an excellent job of following the story with a positive and willing attitude. I have added a link about Freeganism to the blogroll.

Obviously Oprah is very much entwined/invested in our consumerism, but she was transparent with that and seemed to be truly connecting Freeganism with what she is taking in from Tolle’s book. I admire her willingness to grow/stretch and challenge the very fabric of things that have brought her to this point.

The guest Freegans were quite impressive. They are genuine and seem so grounded and at peace with their choices/lifestyle. I admire their prophetic stance, courage and compassion. This is a great response to many of the questions and concerns I have had about consumerism, waste and our future. People such as this give me hope for our country in a new way. Not in a glamorous throw away/faddish kind of way. In a globally compassionate, wise and brave kind of way. It is encouraging that Oprah facilitated a greater voice for Freegans. I am grateful. I could see intentional communities of Freegans forming in this country to a greater degree even. I will continue to study and meditate on the how and the what of this for me.

I am enrolled in the class at Oprah.com with Tolle too, along with my FSPA companion community. And for the sharing of the non-denominational work on consciousness by Tolle, Oprah is doing a great thing. Really great. Tolle faces relativism head on in the book, and doesn’t falter, by the way. I am looking forward to it, though my internet connection is not so fast, so I will be practicing patience as well. I hope it doesn’t backfire (Trying to have patience/mindfulness/the class and my internet connection, I mean). )

~

Here is Lisa Ling’s blog post about the show.

Here is an article about Freeganism.

The North Pacific Gyre, The Plastic Vortex, The 8th Continent:

Looking for accurate and informative resources regarding the enormous amount of plastic garbage in the Pacific Ocean?

Follow the links below to better understand the importance/urgency of changing our habits, and drastically reducing daily throw away plastics and the general “throw away” mentality from our lives for good, and to seek positive solutions.

This page was last updated August 2009:

Most recent (August 2009):

National Geographic reports:  Plastic breaks down fast in the Ocean

Wallace J. Nichols posts on (April 2009) recent surveys and abstracts regarding the plastic pollution in the ocean and in sea animals, as well as reflecting the historical progression with graphs.

And for organizations dedicated to healing the ocean link to Ocean Revolution and also this Eco News Release with links to several other sites working to help the oceans, like adaywithoutplastic.org, LIVBLUE.org, shrimpsuck.org and seeturtles.org.

NPR on the vortex

Garbage from Hawaii to Japan-UK Independant

The Oyster’s Garter…re: images of the Gyre… and more

Greenpeace International on the plastic polluting the Pacific

Bloomberg.com on “Plastic mistaken for Plankton”

~

As I try to do my best to change my habits and really reduce throw away plastic and other needless garbage from my own daily life, especially, plastic bottles and shopping bags, I am mortified by how threaded it is through so many actions and things we take in a day. Suddenly I see the little wraps of plastic to seal the lid of a product or the packaging of something I am buying and I think of the dead and starving sea turtles, albatross and others with plastic filling their stomachs. This is obscene.

We as people need to take broad and firm action in this matter. Laws need to be passed that prohibit certain uses of plastics and reign in tightly the chaos of its production and disposal.

It is difficult, I have learned, from the above sources, to have a photo or satellite image of the plastic vortex. Most of it is submerged and breaking down, lots of it as tiny as plankton. It is a big complicated mess. There is not just one area of concern, there are many.

If we look for signs in nature with a spiritual eye, this is certainly one that does not speak well for us or for future. The animals who live far from us and our disposable lives are consuming plastics and dying of toxins and emptiness. May we recognize the urgency of this reality.

Certainly hope may rest heavily on the spiritual at this point. Faith must be grown strong especially in the darkest of times. Nothing is impossible for God. I am relying on this trust now, in a time when prayer and individual action may not be enough. However, there are countless loving, intelligent, capable people and groups/organizations who can make a difference here — young, old, and all the rest. May it be so.

with earnest hope and love for this life,

Chandra

Longing for the “Seven Generations” Legacy of Hope

I long for a legacy of goodness and hope for all the young people of the world and for those yet to be born. I join with those who seek healing for Mitakuye Oyasin (“all my relations”), as the Lakota people have taught. This is the basis of right relationship to all life.

I have always had hope without blinders on regarding the realities of this world. However, I have believed and experienced also, the uncommon, the miraculous, magical potentials as well. Beauty does not cease, though it may be hidden or fleeting. Though I was a child of the 80’s witnessing everything from Greed to Star Wars, I was also rooted in the land, Narnia and The Muppets. Go ahead and laugh. This is true. One of the first generations brought up with media and television of the new era.

Gathering rocks and witnessing the ant hills that were strangely tall in our fields, making mud pies in solitude with the presence of sun beams on my shoulders, that is when and where I sensed God and, I felt and trusted hope. If you were to peer into my life at that time, at the sheer dynamics of my family, hope would not have been your first thought. Now, decades later, that hope has endured, though not without the despairing valleys. So what, that is the way things go.

I am a hopeful one still. I remember reading dear Anne Frank and how she still believed in the basic goodness of our kind. I reflect on this, because surely, that gift of hope does wane in me now. I have a child. Reading about the plastic vortex in the ocean and the difficulty of retrieving the small particles of broken down plastic and the ramifications of it is a compounded agony, which includes the war, the changing Constitution, and the beginning of a water crisis.

Deep sorrow is appropriate. Outrage is called for. I was crying terribly last night. What a blessing it was to cry to my Husband, whose heart is compassionate, tender and strong.

Hope is being lost. So, my mind and heart crawl to what wisdom I can find, like, “Faith, Hope and Love, but the greatest of these is Love.” So, if I lose my hope, Love remains within me and around me. I have no doubt of that. Love is what motivates the agony response to our present world.

There are no Presidential candidates who are addressing issues such as, the plastic vortex crisis in the ocean, the water crisis beginning in our Nation/World, appalling violations of the Geneva Convention, the appalling and anti-life standards in factory farms, the underground slavery/disappearance of children and adults (especially minorities) in this country/in the world who have no rights or protection, the need to close the S.O.A. and holding Government officials accountable for crimes committed and the state of the Constitution, to name a few.

Kucinich is the only person who comes close to being real and true so far in this process. But media treatment and unscientific polls neutralize him. Gore is green, to a good degree, but he’s not running. No one has stood up yet and said,

“Water is the most important issue on this planet. We can’t live without it. If you elect me as your President, I am going to put priority on making clean water available for all people. We are going to make reducing pollution and loss of habitat our priority over corporate greed, convenience, instant gratification. Your lives will have to change. All our lives will, for the good of many hopeful generations to come. We have habits to break. We can no longer be of the ‘throw away’ mentality. We can no longer sprawl and consume to the death. We have many powerful attributes we need to depend on more as Americans and world citizens, such as our ingenuity, inspiration, visionary solutions, profound discernment and a relentless disciplined effort. In securing the health of our home as far as we are capable, we will also make priority the needs of the millions of children living in poverty and violence in this country and in the world. This will lead us to eliminate the contamination of our food chain with inhumane and unhealthy practices that occur in factory farms, in the polluting of agriculture, industry and our own plethora of waste. In fact, any practices that treat any life as an expendable object must cease, that we may lead by example and give evidence of our love for our own life source and our own children. We must also engage our vast global family in concerted efforts to uphold these priorities. The process of peacemaking, hope-making, restoration, if unrelenting in our commitment, holds the promise of resurrection. ‘If not now, when?’”

Well, no Presidential Candidate is giving the Great Speech, or anything like I have offered above. Where are the leaders of great heart and mind, rooted in wisdom, ethics and compassion? And if there is one, such as Kucinich, I will not vote for him, because no one will. The power of democracy is in a strangle hold. The good man is discredited and shot down. Why? Because of his height? Because of his looks? Everyone’s looking for an Alpha male, is that it? Are we just predatory creatures, voting by size, brute force, voice and breeding and nothing else? This is not what the voiceless would choose. This is not for the greater good.

The war is an important topic too. It needs to end. Not accelerate. The troops returning (injured, traumatized) are being left behind by it’s own, it is immoral. The damage done to citizens is more vast than ever. The amount of care and restoration that is already needed here and abroad is enormous on all levels. May we not be overwhelmed. The restoration of our Constitution is quite important as well. What if the next president does not restore the Constitution, but alters it further? What then?

Each day, at the personal level, I, we, must continue to find resolve , to choose love, compassion, perseverance and to live with a sense of responsibility. Each day is an opportunity to find and offer love and healing despite the tempest and the raging. However small my life, I recognize the importance of each life I encounter as beautiful, as a gift, as necessary.

The Sacred is what we, I, seek. The way is challenging and I am often failing. I will try again today.

peace,

C.S.S.

*(Addendum: as of February 4th, 2008, I believe Barack Obama could be the hope for the Nation, he has given a great speech. He has touched on many of the important issues, Let’s see what’s next. Right now, I would vote for him.)