Isabel Designs

The bracelet my first boyfriend gave me after our first kiss, the keys to the car that declared my ‘roll down the window and crank up the music’ independence, and the love notes exchanged between me and my first true love, preserved in shoeboxes and Tim Horton cans, are evidence that I am a sentimental pack rat. I don’t apologize for hanging on to these things. They help me remember special moments in my life. They remind me that I was here. 

Sunflower Angel

Up until recently, I still had the big green trunk that my Dad passed on to me when I was thirteen. It held precious things like ticket stubs from concerts and movies, letters from high school friends and sweethearts, and the high-heeled pink shoes that my sister made me wear to her wedding. I also stored college art projects and theology essays, the ones that got A’s, so I could remember those achievements. It held photo albums filled with the escapades of friends that still make me laugh out loud when I look at them. The trunk was ruined in a basement flood a few years back, so I had no choice but to part with it and the majority of its contents. One starry summer evening, when the flames were burning high in a backyard campfire, I put the trunk in the fire, and ceremoniously gave its ashes to the wind. It was a good lesson for me to ‘let go’ of some of these old things. Let’s face it – I’ll never wear those pink shoes again!

Today I received an email that filled me with a sense of hope and newness. Today I witnessed a great blue heron walking along the water’s edge, and felt the morning sun flood its light on my face. These were not yesterday’s memories. This is my now. I know all these things will be added to my storehouse of treasures, to be called forth again when I need them, or least expect them, but living in the moment, feeling them for the first time over and over again, is really where it’s at. I am here. 

Angus Woody MacDoodle

I was walking in the woods yesterday, as I often do, when I heard a faint but familiar sound. I turned to see a tiny orange tabby emerge from a pile of wood rubble, and without hesitation it came towards me. I hardly had time to bend down before he was at my heels. An adorable kitten, six to eight weeks old, obviously socialized, looking a little worse for wear and all alone. He had some trauma to his tail and a dirty face, but other than that, looked healthy. I picked him up and carried him out of the bush. Knocked on doors of surrounding homes, but couldn’t find an owner. 

It is appalling to me to think that people abandon pets, but it happens. This is not the first orphan kitten I’ve attended to. Families living in the country seem to be targets for unwanted cats and dogs, as if by some mysterious right it is our responsibility to care for discarded animals. I have certainly fed and cared for my share of strays over the years because of someone else’s neglect. It is not a burden I choose, yet I cannot disregard the living, breathing, hungry creature that wanders across my path. 

So I named him Angus Woody MacDoodle. Thankfully I had a can of tuna in the cupboard, and though it took a bit of coaxing, he ate up the small bowl that I put out for him. Then I wrapped him up in a shirt and brought him to the local veterinary clinic where they kept him overnight (a portion of his tail had to be amputated). Today he will be delivered to his new home. One phone call to a friend was all it took. Angus will have a family after all. 

At the end of the day, I’m feeling like a kitty hero – making the big resue, playing nursemate and adoption agent all at the same time. An act of compassion that took little effort but will yeild big results. I believe every moment we step outside of ourselves to serve another – animal or person, or even when we tend to the environment – we create goodness in the universe and expand the possibilities for love and respect in the world. 

How do you feel about this? Share you comments with us now.

It’s a rare sight for most of us, so I’m considering myself very lucky to have an eagle in the neighbourhood. I can’t tell whether it’s male or female, but it’s very big, its presence ominous. I first spotted it hovering above the lake last fall, and wondered if this was simply a migration stop. Apparently, eagles love fish, and the little lake I live on has plenty of them, so even if there’s a little competition with the herons, it’s a good feeding place. At any rate, it came back this spring and I hope it’ll stick around. 

I don’t know very much about the bald eagle, but I do know it is the national symbol of the United States, and a sacred symbol to many native American and Canadian tribes. In some cultures, eagles are considered spiritual messengers between the gods and humans. “They send their prayers to Eagle, so as it rises above the chaos to meet the Creator…it will return with a vision for the people.” (Animal Totem)

I have always been interested in spiritual signs. I seek them, wait for them, and hope to recognize them when they are presented to me. I wonder if the eagle has a message for me? According to the Animal Totem website, an “eagle shows us that people with high ideals need to be able to spread their wings so they can reach for the stars. Eagle brings the gift of clarity of vision. As long as we follow our intuition we will be heading in the right direction.” 

Another website on totems says the eagle is a great reminder of our own ability to soar great heights even if it means getting ‘scorched’ in the process. Perhaps the message for me is to glide  and flap on the air current and let go of the emotional fear of falling – or failing; to be open to new experiences and possibilities, even if they make me uncomfortable. That’s a good message any day of the week.

I can’t tell you how happy I am that the bulk of winter is behind us. Though it’s still rather chilly today, the sun is shining, the ice is melting, and there is very little snow left in the yard. This makes me happy. The other morning while I was lying in bed, I heard the familiar, yet uplifting chirps of sparrows and blackbirds; another reminder that the ‘changing of the seasons’ is upon us. Today I will find a moment to lift my face to the sun and offer gratitude that my soul too, feels the momentum of spring and feels like singing. I hope you feel it too.