Herding Cats?

Nope.  Not herding cats.  Training them.  Or rather, finding out what they like to do, and then rewarding them for it.

I grew up with dogs and cats together.  I can think of three different pairs.  They would snuggle together in a sunny spot on the floor on a winter's day.  Or cuddle together on the couch.  Yes, we did allow our adopted greyhound on the couch.

The most fun was watching these creatures wrestle -- the dog being careful not to overwhelm the cat; and the cat being careful to keep her claws sheathed.  Over and over, round and round they'd go.

Cats who perform is a whole different circus.  Yet here's a guy who has figured it out.  Hope you enjoy their entertainment.

Avian ballet

These amazingly beautiful starlings perform an aerial ballet. What is the collective intelligence that creates this choreography? And, perhaps equally important, that allows us to appreciate a bunch of little black birds doing something totally and incredibly beautiful?

Dear (Deer) Story

This photo story came in a recent email. It seems that after the time of the fires in southern California, two guys set out to go fishing in the Pacific. They spotted something swimming ahead of them.

Yes, is was a deer.




Nearly exhausted, it offered little resistance to being hauled on board their fishing boat.

Safely ashore, the men released the deer.


Some have seen this as a metaphor. Sometimes the thing nearest right to do doesn't look very promising. For whatever reason, the deer felt it needed to jump into the ocean and start swimming. Somehow these fishermen came to the very spot where the deer needed rescuing.

So sometimes when it looks like we can't swim another 10 yards on a course that seemed the nearest right thing to do, God will rescue us (or send rescue) and set our feet firmly on the ground again.

Puppies behind bars

This is a win-win program.

The prisoners who train the puppies to be service dogs win, because they rediscover their humanity. They discover love that most of them never knew.

The puppies win because they are cherished companions during their puppyhood, and beloved companions after they graduate. In turn, they save – in the sense of redeeming – lives while they are being trained. Love is surely reflected in love.

The final owners, wounded soldiers, win by having dogs that have been raised and trained with love and dedication. The dogs give the soldiers their lives back. They give families their dads and moms back.

These Oprah interviews with Glen Close are spot-on. You might want to have tissues handy.

Part I



Part II

When shadows are good

Shadows can make some

interesting photography

A shadow hints at a reality.

A shadow formed by a small passing cloud may prompt us to look up to find that cloud.

A shadow on a compass can help us find “north” if we know what time it is.

Shadows of themselves have no substance. They give us an outline of some original thing.

A loved Psalm speaks of walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Shadow here implies scary. But the verse also assures us that we’ll come out the other side.

Other Psalms using the word “shadow” with “the Almighty,” convey a sense of inclusiveness and safety. “How excellent is your lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of your wings.”

This pigeon is trying to nudge three

homeless bunny babies under her breast

(emailed photo; would love to credit it)

The security of feeling God’s comforting presence, belongs to everyone. It’s a here and now caring. Something we can lean on when it feels like we’re walking among uncertain shadows. It's good to know we're not alone, when it feels like might be.

Ever wish you could paint?

The elephant is the national symbol of Thailand. Elephants were once used as formidable war vehicles and in times of peace for transportation and logging.

Recent wars have decimated the Thai elephants. Many of the relatively small remaining population are protected in elelphant preserves which are maintained, at least in part, by the tourist trade.

A bit long, but worth it, here's an eight-minute video of one such very clever elephant. Yes, she's been taught, but still...





Speaking of art and the universe, 19th century religious thinker Mary Baker Eddy wrote, "This divine Principle of all expresses Science and art throughout His creation. . ."

Unusual friendship

Friendships. Ingredients include caring and respect and often affection. Here’s an unusual one.

As the closing comment says, “Listen up, world!”

Oneness finds expression

Animals teach us so much. Dogs teach me to give God my whole heart, joyfully, unconditionally, trustingly. I can do this because God is good, and I can trust Him/Her with my heart.

The video below illustrates what’s called bridle-less reining. It means the horse has no hardware – no bridle, saddle, not even a loop around her neck.

It looks to me like horse and rider are working at a high level of teamness. Clearly the rider is not “controlling” the horse in the usual sense. She is communicating, giving Roxy cues to which she responds. Roxy anticipates her cues and executes the actions immediately. It looks to me like the horse twirls, canters, changes leads, gallops, and stops because she wants to, not because she has to.

Jesus said, “I and my Father are one.” I realize this is most often interpreted to say Jesus is God. But what if he meant – and this is a reasonable, though not literal, interpretation – one in quality, one in purpose, one in action?

This horse/rider team move as one. Everything they do is oneness. What she thinks, Roxy does. They remind me that giving our hearts to an infinitely good God without reservation allows us to learn how to move in perfect harmony with His/Her plan for us.

As we learn to recognize the cues, our responses are more timely.

I’m not there yet. Sometimes I discover reservations hiding in the background. These become opportunities for honest soul-searching, honest prayer-time with God.

Always there is the sparkling example of Jesus’ oneness with His Father – the life of “him who went about the Syrian hillsides doing good and casting demons out.” John Greenleaf Whittier.

And the contemporary example, below, of how oneness can look.

The real thing - better than experiments

In “Science NOW Daily News,” December 8, an experiment revealed to researchers that domestic dogs, as well as primates, are aware of unfairness. The dogs understood when they both shook paws with their trainer, and only one received a treat, that this was unjust. The unrewarded dog refused to participate in further paw shaking. He was not a happy camper.

To those of us who have been blessed by growing up with pets, what’s startling is that researchers didn’t already know this. When it comes to food, a horse, for example, is not quiet or patient if his buddy gets a scoop of grain, and he doesn’t. Likewise with multiple dogs and cats, you need to feed them at the same time to keep the peace.

Yes, if you have a city dog, you have to walk it; yes, if you have a city cat, you need to clean a litter box. But you are rewarded with basic lessons in common sense, friendship and affection from a creature who doesn’t speak in our words. As you learn to read an animal’s body language, you can relate to him/her on several levels: basic needs, affection, games.

Where is God in all this? I believe God gives us creatures to help us learn compassion and responsibility, and especially to improve our sense of humor.

Here’s a sweet video – one of a series of Nora, who enjoys accompanying kids taking their piano lessons.

Taking a break

Sandhill cranes coming in at sunset

-- Pulaski Preserve, Indiana

Hello Dear Friends,

I'm taking off for a couple of weeks, and look forward to writing again the week of November 10th.

Until then remember that no matter how the US elections go, both candidates are good men, and whoever is elected will do his best.

And that man is going to need the support of the entire country. This is a time for uniting and getting the economy back on its feet.

Migrating cranes, geese, and ducks understand the need for flying together, as a unit, to support one another, to conserve their strength.

It's not that different in our country right now. In order to move in a healthy direction, we must work together, and that effort can be as beautiful and effective as a V-formation heading for a friendlier climate.

The crane in the driftwood

This carving adorns my friend, Nancy's, fireplace.

A Michigan craftsman finds driftwood and studies the pieces. In this piece he saw a graceful Sandhill crane.

Knife stroke by careful knife stroke, he skillfully removed from that dirty mass of old disfigured tree everything that was unlike the magnificent crane he saw in his mind.

A carver must keep that perfect model in his thought while carving and not be distracted by what everybody else sees as merely an old piece of wood.

What a great lesson! How many people have we met who have lost their beauty, their joy, their peace of mind, maybe even their purpose for living? Perhaps their lives have been storm-tossed for a long time.

Somehow our paths cross.

Sometimes exchanging a smile of blessing, we each continue on our own paths.

Other times, like the Michigan carver, we connect. We make the effort to look deep beyond the battered and weathered exterior to find something extraordinary, something unique that remains of what their Creator created.

Like that carver, we focus on the beauty and goodness that cannot be seen with the eye. The eye stops at the scraggly surface. We have to look past the surface for the spiritual identity. I like to call it the Christ in me seeking the Christ in another. It takes patience and a lot of love.

Holding to that vision, it’s surprising how often we find beauty and goodness coming to the surface to be recognized and appreciated. The Creator's love that brings inner goodness to the surface also transforms the life.

Like the crane, hidden so long in the gnarled wood, that now rises to soar in the sky.

"We must form perfect models in thought

and look at them continually,

or we shall never carve them out in grand and noble lives."

Mary Baker Eddy

Photo thanks to Nancy Fischer

Interrelatedness

Monet-like quality in the Koi pond

The perfect autumn afternoon beckoned, and the boys were reluctant to come. Their dad’s office party was happening at their home, and they were curious to see who would be coming, and what might be happening.

That party was precisely the reason we were leaving, so the grown-ups could have their grown-up party.

We picked up Les on our way to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Glen Ellyn. She instantly and cheerfully improved the ratio to one-to-one, one boy to one adult.

The grandsons are city boys, so I look for opportunities to introduce them to nature and to the creatures who live in the forests and fields.

We saw animals that wouldn’t be released due to injuries that would prevent their successful hunting – golden eagles, bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, peregrine falcons, barn owls, great-horned owls, a bobcat, raccoons, and foxes –in large circular cages carefully furnished with various-sized branches and box-like structures for dens.

Red-tail hawk on an outing

The boys were keenly interested in the young woman volunteer sporting a magnificent red-tail hawk on her gloved arm. She answered their questions with skill and respect for the wild bird on her glove.

Why this treasure in the middle of suburbia? Someone had the vision to save the forests – at least parts of them. What a gift these green expanses are to us, our children and grandchildren.

I am gleaning from that afternoon that everything fits together as ideas in one universal Mind. Not as wounded, recovering, or impaired animals, but each one a spiritual idea already complete in Mind.

There were glimpses of everything related – the foresight for establishing Forest Preserves, the dedication to create and fund the Center, the people who staff it, volunteers who serve, public who come to learn; a sense of peace, order, and beauty, hope and caring.

These are spiritual qualities, natural to all mankind. We had our own party, our celebration of creatures special and wonderful.

Curiosity expands horizons

New friends

This email arrived today. Other than a series of photos, there was no story, no location, no identification.

Deer multiplying with no natural enemies reek havoc, we’re told, on crops and environment.

I'm not saying it's good or bad to make friends with deer. Yet it is still an adventure when wild and domestic meet in respect, curiosity, and trust.

In other photos, these folks are luring the young buck with a tasty apple. He was clearly curious himself about the people and their dogs.

The person who sent the email had labeled it “One harmonious family.”

Here comes Lorenzo!

A friend just sent this video of Lorenzo and his horses. Apparently herds of these camargue horses are allowed to run half-free in the marshes of southern France, their natural habitat.

Lorenzo clearly has the respect and trust of his animals. No domination here. He communicates by touching their necks with a small stick. Who ever heard of such a thing?

What a special comment on the oneness of Life, the oneness of Mind.

Lesson from a bumble bee

A honeybee at work

An email arrived telling about a bumble bee.

It is said that a bumble bee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will die unless it is rescued. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the glass sides near the bottom. It will seek an exit where none exists, until it is exhausted.

Sometimes we are like the bumblebee. We find ourselves struggling against adversity and disappointment, too often looking for escape where there is none. Yet it is true that very often all we need to do is look up – literally and figuratively.

“Looking up” can have the meaning of looking beyond ourselves to what one friend fondly calls “the Higher Power.” She finds answers there too. She hears messages of comfort, patience, courage, and practical ideas for going forward.

The email concluded with this little reminder:
Sorrow looks back,
Worry looks around,
Faith looks up!

Goodnight Sweetheart!

Most of us have seen a mom or dad or grandparent singing to an infant. The lullaby comforts, soothes, calms. Sometimes it puts the weary little one to sleep.

Here’s a YouTube you might enjoy. Important to have your volume way up so you can hear the man telling the puppies it's time to go to bed, as well as the fact that he is actually singing to them.




As infants and toddlers nestle safely in their parent’s arms, so you and I can nestle in the ever-presence of our Father-Mother as Spirit, or Truth, or Love.

May we all feel this closeness that the puppies respond to. It describes our relationship with our Maker as interactive, caring, present, safe and comforting.

Love, the great communicator

OK for all you animal lovers, here’s the best footage I’ve found so far of Christian the Lion.

The story is in the captions.

Even people to people, love and respect remains the best communicator.

Hope for world peace

Mother love is where you find it

This YouTube clip shows an unusual bonding between a crow and a homeless kitten.

The crow feeds and cares for the kitten, and they remain friends long after the kitten is eating on its own.



In Christian and Jewish writings, Isaiah the prophet brings predator and prey together in safety. Some 2,500 years ago, he foresaw a lion lying down peacefully with a lamb.

Many people have dogs and cats that live and play happily together.

If peace, caring and friendship can evolve so unexpectedly, this gives me greater hope for world peace.

Meeting God half way

One loved puppy

"Where the Red Fern Grows," is a great family movie. It's a love story between a boy and his dogs.

Billy Coleman, growing up in the Ozark mountains, at about age 10 wants a pair of redbone hunting dog pups more than anything in the world. Because his family is very poor, he asks God for these puppies.

Eventually he asks his Grampa why after all his prayers, he still has no dogs. His grampa says, “Maybe you need to meet God half way.”

Billy wants to know what this means, and Grampa wisely tells him to think about it.

Think Billy does. Then he puts his prayer into action. He begins doing chores for the neighboring farm families – cutting wood, painting fences, selling vegetables to seasonal hunters. Every nickel, dime, and quarter earned goes into a jar. At the end of two years he has saved enough to buy two fine puppies.

Another way to phrase Billy’s insight is “God helps those who help themselves.” Religious leader Mary Baker Eddy observes that if our prayers are sincere, we will live consistently with the spirit of those prayers.

Was it Ghandi who said, “Become the change you want to see”?

Billy realized he had to be a participant in achieving his prayer.

Christ Jesus taught his followers (throughout all time) to be doers. There’s a balance between prayer and doing. Taking time for prayer undergirds whatever action follows.

So I have to ask myself when I pray, how willing am I to meet God half way? How willing am I to change my thinking from that of an observer to that of a participant? These are two different attitudes.

How willing am I to drop old opinions, old habits, old ways of looking at things in exchange for fresh ideas, fresh approaches? Not change for the sake of change, but change in order to keep up with the times. How willing am I to leave old familiar routines that don’t necessarily promote progress or growth?

How willing am I to do my share to achieve my prayers?

Lion hug

For you animal lovers, here’s a YouTube video.

The story says that a woman in Columbia found a lion cub, who was wounded and hungry. She took him home and raised him until he was too big. She then gave him to the local zoo, where she visits him every day.

The deep affection between them is clear.





American religious leader, Mary Baker Eddy, viewed animals from a spiritual perspective. She wrote, “Understanding the control which Love held over all, Daniel felt safe in the lions’ den, and Paul proved the viper to be harmless. All of God’s creatures, moving in the harmony of Science, are harmless, useful, indestructible.”