I think so many of us like to look out the window on a snowy January day - that is if we live in the winter climes. Today as I looked out- I even thought of Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" though I believe his was a November evening. I have to admit though that poetry has never been my strong suit. But who can't appreciate these musing thoughts of his: "The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep."
It has been so long that I was in college that I really don't know - if I ever did, what promises he was referring to or was it just a poetic musing? All the same - I couldn't help thinking that I don't have promises to keep anymore, and I really hope that I don't have miles to go before I sleep!
Does this sound depressing? I hope not. I feel I've led a full life and whenever its time, I'd like to think I'm ready. In the meanwhile, I'm trying to enjoy each day with its joys and disappointments. I think that most of us experience more good things daily than bad. At least I hope so.
Actually, January first of this year was a disappointment for me. I so looked forward to see the "Save the Mustangs" float in the Rose Bowl parade but didn't. I don't have cable so I watched NBC's commentary for two whole hours in vain- waiting excitedly to see the float and the mustangs. How disappointing - they must have cut into a commercial at just the time when the float was making its appearance. I was also disappointed that some Indian group didn't appreciate that an Indian mannequin was featured on one of the flowered mustangs. I was shocked. I thought they would be pleased. Obviously, today some Indians don't reflect the values of their forebears.
Going to the internet for more information, I was also saddened to read a post which said that
legislator Sue Wallis of Wyoming was not happy with the float either. Her family had been involved
in slaughtering horses for their meat before this horrible practice was banned. To see this corpulent legislator on the internet trying to impress fellow legislators to change the laws so that horse slaughter could continue added to my unhappiness on this first day of the year.
However, despite the negatives, a couple of days later we received an e-mail from Madeleine Pickens whose wonderful idea it was to sponsor the float and an equestrian unit with the mustangs. Her hope was that Americans would have a say whether or not their horses should be gathered off the land. She didn't mention the terribly cruel helicopter round-ups which force these mustangs to run for their lives for miles in hot weather - many of them dying as a result. I believe she is trying very hard not to anger the BLM head because she wants to work with him to free the horses from the holding pens to which these poor horses were corralled. She is also trying to purchase land where they can roam free and unfettered. And to my surprise, she happily mentioned that their float was the winner of the Past President's Trophy for the Most Innovative Use of Floral and Non-Floral. Not surprisingly, she and all who worked on the float were thrilled. Thank you Madeleine for all you do for these wild mustangs. May your work bear much fruit is my hope and prayer.
My first positive decision for the new year - I decided to keep Jack the castaway bunny. He is as cute as bunnies can be. After two or three weeks of caring for him, Monica and I were suppose to take him to the APL, but I worried that no one would adopt him because he has only one eye.
So, I needed to makes some changes with his living arrangements. I pulled his "spacious" cage into the cats' place and attached it to another "spacious" cage. Now he can still get some exercise between his "feeding" cage and the cage with the litter box. He also has the company of 5 cats and if he likes music, I have the radio on for part of the day. I hope these accommodations will suit him even though he no longer has the run of the other side of the basement - where now I will have to do some heavy duty cleaning!
I have learned a lot about caring for Jack and I am grateful to him for making me stock my frig with veggies and fruits. Twice a day I make up a bowl for him containing: slices of pear, apple, banana and carrots. When I slice the apple and pear - some of the slices go into my mouth! I really enjoyed these thin slices of fruit which I have to admit I hadn't before. I even thinly sliced the broccoli stem and popped some of them into my mouth. Delicious! I always thought I could never subsist on a raw diet. It doesn't seem half bad anymore and even delicious -thanx to Jack. I also pluck a broccoli flower and some cabbage leaves for him. I cut a brussel sprout in half and I include a dried apricot or some raisins. And his very favorite - parsley. He must be a Slovak bunny because my mother used fresh parsley a lot in her delicious soups. I now do the same -except this time - instead of the dried - I have fresh parsley available all the time because of Jack. I also hope to augment his diet with rabbit pellets to make sure he is getting the nourishment he needs.
Part of my day naturally includes reading. In the January Catholic Digest I came across "Praying with the Jesuits." In the post they mentioned something about St. Ignatius Loyola's spirituality of which I was unawares. Ten Jesuits were asked to define it. I was so pleased to find out that almost inevitably the first words out of them were -"FINDING GOD IN ALL THINGS." That is so beautiful because it means that nothing is seen as outside the boundaries of the spiritual life.
As the writer notes "Ignatian spirituality is not confined within the walls of the Church. It does not consider only overtly "religious" topics like reading Scripture, as part of a person's spiritual life. The way of Ignatius looks at ALL your experiences as ways to meet God. That includes prayer and service to be sure; but it also includes friends, family, work, relationships, sex, suffering and joy, as well as nature, music and pop culture."
And this last little story was also found in the Catholic Digest, though I've seen it somewhere else as well. They called it the Clever Canine. This particular family was visited one day by an old, tired- looking dog who wandered into their yard. He looked well-fed and had a collar but he walked over to
the lady of the house, and after a few pats, followed her into the house. He walked slowly down the hall and curled up in the corner for a nap. An hour later he walked to the door and was let out.
This happened on and off for a couple of weeks when the lady of the house wrote a note and attached it to the dog - wondering about his behaviour. I loved the response she received: "He lives in a home with six children, two of them under the age of 3, and he's probably trying to catch up on his sleep and the note ended with "Can I come with him tomorrow?" Every time I read this I laugh. I hope you did too.
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