‘Be present… be here now”.

When was the last time someone spoke these words to you?

Maybe you can recall seeing them on the cover of a magazine, or you read them in the description of a recent self improvement book.

It sounds nice… that reminder that all you can experience in reality is this current moment. Your brain registers value in the idea and immediately sets off on a path to figure out the mechanics of “being present” as if it were a puzzle to solve or a light to somehow switch on.

But have you experienced being present? I’m talking about that moment when all of your awareness is in what is happening right this second.

If you spend time with cats you’ll notice this is a skill at which they excel.

A kitten fascinated by a toy is not thinking about what it was like to play with that toy yesterday. Nor does the kitten worry the toy might disappear tomorrow if they don’t stow it away for safe keeping.

Cats are incredibly talented at simply being. Whether they are snoozing, eating, playing, exploring, or looking at the window at the birds… they are always in the current moment. When you spend a great deal of time around cats it becomes almost impossible not to notice this. 

For me, this lesson was imprinted on my heart during the process of Rugby’s passing last year. If you follow this blog you’ve read my words about him before. The process of a loved one preparing to cross over, the intuitive awareness of the hourglass sand slipping through your fingers. Recalling a million memories while simultaneously feeling the electric awareness of each passing nanosecond, as though time itself uncoiled into something words cannot do justice.

A year has now passed without Rugby while his 18 year old brother Guinness has grown a little slower, a little wobblier, a little sleepier.

We have a small enclosed courtyard at our home, where we safely supervise our cats when they want to see the sky and smell the air. Rugby had a favorite spot there, and it’s where I buried a portion of his ashes. Yesterday morning after breakfast Guinness told me he wanted to go out to the courtyard, and so we went. He walked straight to Rugby’s spot, laid down and let out a small sigh.

It isn’t his time yet, but I can feel the tiredness in his spirit. He loves Andrew and I and he has done so much for us. My small self wants to grasp at holding onto him forever, but my heart quietly reminds me that I already have forever… only in a different form with the continued passing of time.

And so the lesson of being present makes itself known once more… presence in being thankful he is still here right now, in this moment of this day.

I hope each of you is gifted with this lesson at some point in your life… and I invite you to fully open your heart to feeling it when it appears.

With Love and Light,

Caroline