A-Z Challenge Day 3 - C is for Contemplation and Creativity

Cats - Tiger cat in contemplative mood

Creativity

I've written plenty about creativity on this blog. Whether improvising a raincoat out of carrier bags for a much-loved teddy in the wilds of the Western Highlands, Praying in Colour, taking part in Journal 52 for the umpteenth time, (I will complete the challenge this year, I promise!), searching out weird epitaphs,  composing found poetry out of The National Trust magazine, The Big Issue and assorted mailshots, or whiling away the hours in the art room on retreat, the older I get, the more it becomes a source of sustenance. Plus it's fun...most of the time. This from somebody who couldn't 'do' art at school. I still can't 'do' it, but that doesn't stop me!

Not everything that I 'create' gets put online, in fact most of it stays hidden within the covers of my journal, only to be shared with a select few, often in the context of working through personal issues. I'm very good at self-censoring what I write. This isn't nearly as easy to do when you're working with colour, images and the imagination. Your inner self will out.  Or, to misquote a certain advert of yesteryear, " Creativity refreshes the parts that other contemplative activities cannot reach!"

A-Z Day 22: Simon's Cat

The two Greenpatch felines: Tiger and Sofa Cat

Short and sweet today;  do say hi to our two resident moggies. Tigercat arrived shortly after the beginning of Growing Greenpatches. He's our third cat, following on from Scaredy, Kung-Fu and the late, great Gothcat. All of them have had to co-exist with GP dog, or as it is now - dogs, which can make for some fun times, to say the least. But Tiger, described by our local Cat Rescue as "The cat with cattitude," has his own way of coping with any nonsense - with a well aimed paw! Grace, our tartan 'Sofa cat' seems altogether calmer and more serene. Maybe some of this will rub off on her more feisty companion - some day.

Double-trouble indeed, though by Simon's Cat's standards, we have it easy!

Hallelujah Encore!

Yes, you've guessed it - our cat with cattitude hit the target aka his litter tray again!  Yes, I realise this has nothing whatsoever to do with the remit of this blog; but you'll have to indulge me - if you have to co-exist with our furry tiger, even commonplace achievements like this are a cause for letting off the party poppers.  There's nothing like rejoicing at the little things in life. I'll leave you to draw suitably spiritual  parallels. I'm sure there are many.

Oh -  and I couldn't resist linking to one of my favourite feline clips - Simon's Cat's "Double Trouble."  Enjoy!

Hallelujah!

 PTL! We've hit gold.  Tigercat has - how shall we put it delicately -  just"deposited" a feline "Number Two" in the correct receptacle  for the second time this week! To date they're usually left on the study floor for me to find first thing. Please don't flood me with suggestions as to the likely cause or solution to the problem; believe me, we've tried them all! Just rejoice with us that he who...that our cat with cattitude has ...brain's not working this morning...any biblical re-writes on the topic welcome.

Suspect this entry falls into the 'totally illogical' category. (Oops!)

Speaking Cat and Existentialism

I've been inspired by KirstenM's brilliant links to Ninja cat clips to show you a recentish pic of our resident feline with 'cattitude.' For blog purposes we'll call him 'Tigercat,' if his fur-flying all claws sharpened virtuoso performance at the vets just after we got him is anything to go by maybe 'Jekyll and Hyde cat' would be a more appropriate moniker.  A year later and with vaccs due again, we braced ourselves for an encore and what  would you know...he was good as gold. Twelve months co-existing with GP dog must have had a calming effect. Although I doubt he'll ever be a true lap cat, he's a worthy successor to the late great 'Gothcat,' 'Kung-Foo Viking' , and last, but definitely not least, our  much-loved little 'Scaredy Cat.'

Of course, all this is just an excuse (thanks, Kirsten for paving the way) for linking to all things cat - two clips sent me recently by Ms and Mstr GP:  if you're still struggling to understand the labyrinthine workings of the feline mind, here's a simple guide to How to speak cat. Then if  that still fails to make any  sense, you might find solace in the musings of good old Henri, philosopher and existentialist. Non, je ne regrette rien....

New Year's Grace

"Grace" the latest addition to the GP menagerie

I guess we could all do with some grace at this time of the year. Here's mine - a pressie from Ms GP - "Grace," one of Andrew Duncan Graham's "Highland Characters," handmade from Harris tweed and stuffed with lavender. Ideal for snuggling up with in bed on a cold night. (So far, neither GP cat nor Mr GP have raised any objections!).

Next up - this ingenious little "drawing machine," another gem from Ms GP who has a knack  for discovering  the most  quirky and unusual gifts.  As you can imagine, I managed to get more felt tip on my hands than on the paper.

Oh Pooh! - Earthy Spirituality

Or hearkening back to one of our son's favourite reads when we were living in France - Crotte!  Literally -  on the landing - ready to greet Mr GP as he came downstairs this morning.   GP cat has 'Toilet'  issues.   My morning 'time,' quiet or otherwise, is beginning to take on a whole incarnational dimension I'd not bargained for; half of me communing with the Almighty, the other watching out for signs that our resident feline is about to commune with our wood flooring instead of his litter tray.  (Note to self: What we thought was a regular dawn 'mad moment,' with Tigercat hurtling himself up and down stairs at 90 mph is something else entirely). Thus it was that my musings on the integration of my inner and outer landscapes  post spiritual direction visit yesterday were abruptly cut short. There's nothing, but nothing, like animals for keeping you grounded, is there?

Capturing my thoughts

Frustration! I knew exactly what I wanted to write about. There it was: original,  crisp, insightful, profound, succinct. Qualities I'm not famed for; yesterday at spiritual direction,  I described my efforts at articulation as being like trying to wrestle a pop-up tent into its carrying case.

And, would you believe it? It was a dream. Oh great, just great! My attempts to drift back to sleep didn't work. And before you ask, yes, I do keep a notebook and pen by my bedside. When I finally came to, Greenpatch cat had jumped up and knocked them to the ground. Maybe he knows something I don't.

Scaredy Cat's Comfort Zones, Confidence and Catnip

"Shall I? Shan't I?" - Greenpatch Cat deep in thought

I spent a pleasant half hour or so earlier sitting outside on the patio with Greenpatch Cat. Trying to persuade our resident mini-tiger that the outside world is  a friendly place hasn't been the easiest of tasks so far. As we live near a busyish road all of our moggies to date have been semi 'indoors,'  'Outdoors' being a large fenced and wired off section of the patio, with an arbour, platforms to climb, catmint and other greenery, wind chimes and I don't know what else. I remember GP Cat MkI 'Gothcat's ' favourite route out there was up over the kitchen sink and out onto a ramp via the window. It could be more than a little hair-raising at times, especially if you were cooking or busy with the washing up when a hairy streak of nothing with Dracula-style fangs suddenly jumped in front of you!

The latest GP feline's been with us nearly three months and as yet has hardly been out. To be fair to him, getting past the dog doesn't help matters. And we wonder if some of his hangups - about vets and venturing outside  also stem from being run over when he was younger.  Last time Mr GP tried sweeping him up and dumping him outside, he insisted in sitting right outside the doors looking so pathetic that my hairy hubby relented and let him in after a few seconds.

Today, I tried sitting outside with him in the late afternoon sunshine. Hallelujah! After a few minutes he  came over to me to investigate; took a cautious nip of catmint - then rolled in it....verrryyy slowly nosed his way round the enclosure, hid behind the arbour, peeked out, checked the place once more, before coming back over to me and snuggling up against me.  "Hmmmm...?" That last's for both of us. I'm currently musing over some possibilities that could...will  be liable to take me out of my comfort zones. Maybe tonight's episode with Scaredy (oops, nearly typed 'Sacred') Cat might have something to say to me...maybe...Hmmm...?

Small Pilgrimage Places

                                                    - Diocese of Oxford Pilgrimage Map
On Thursday Greenpatch dog and I set off on a mini-pilgrimage right across town to try and blow the cobwebs away. We do this sometimes; we decide to abandon our usual trot round the park, break out and go where the mood...or GP dog's nose - takes us.  He's a better map reader than myself, I guess. Today was one of those times, especially after the sad events of the previous night when I just want to get out there into the fresh air and walk and walk my troubles away.  I quite fancied trying the Speen Moors walk, but several stages in we were thrown by a waymark which I could have sworn should have been there but had somehow vanished since we were last that way.  So, we wandered on into Speen and towards the church  hoping to pick up the route there. Thrown again - at the entrance to the (former ) Elmore Abbey; now that it's private property I wasn't sure whether their driveway is still a right of way or not. So, we turned tail and headed back towards the church with the idea of visiting The Ladywell, an ancient...well...well, said to be of pagan origin.

It was there we were brought up short.  Not what you might think; no epiphanies or messages direct from the Almighty.  No angel  (with or without flaming sword) awaited us at the gate to the graveyard; this was a plastic bag tied to the gate with red parcel ribbon, with a  familiar bright yellow sticker on the cover: Yes, we'd spotted hidden treasure - a Bookcrossing release! If you're not familiar with the scheme, Bookcrossing is like a cross between a huge mobile library and a treasure hunt. Registered bookcrossers release favourite books out 'into the wild,' in all sorts of weird and wonderful places. The book is given a code, so that when it's found, the new reader can log onto the site, write a review and everybody can track the book's progress round the country, and sometimes even the world. And we'd found one; a first for me. I've released books before but never hunted one down myself. I'd forgotten all about it, to  be honest. My membership lapsed years ago. Something I put right as soon as I could.

But it was the sudden, serendipity of the thing that so touched me: the beautiful spring sunshine, GP dog was behaving himself for once, this little surprise and the beautiful surroundings. A sense of oneness or 'itness'  of God that I  experience most often   when I'm really aside from everyday life, say, on retreat.   It stayed with me  as  we wandered along up to the Ladywell and back across the park towards home. All will be well....and all manner of things will be well. (No pun intended).  GP cat might be gone but she's definitely not forgotten.