Posted in Essay, Jamie Dedes

LESSONS IN GRATITUDE

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If the only prayer you said in your whole life was “thank you,” that would suffice. ~ Meister Eckhart (c. 1260 – c. 1327), German mystic, theologian, and philosopher

“Gratitude is a memory of the heart. If we can remember, why can’t you?”

Gypsy photo courtesy of KarenFayeth.

Gypsy (the grandkitty) and I blog together at The Cat’s Meow. She’s the creative/spiritual inspiration. I do the keyboarding. As you can see, Gypsy is rather outspoken.

Originally the blog was entitled The Peaceable Kingdom. We changed it when we realized that surprisingly – or perhaps not so surprisingly – that name didn’t invite traffic. It does, however, encompass the meaning and intent of the blog. While we hope to brighten the workday for readers with funny, cute, or inspiring videos and beautiful animal photos, the underlying message is about respect for our younger brothers and sisters in nature and for the connections among all sentient beings. Many of the posts are about interspecies friendships: animal and animal, animal and human. The implied question we posit is that “if they can do it, why can’t we?”

Animals give us so many gifts (lessons) including: companionship, unconditional love, and gratitude. This lion does indeed have “memory of the heart” as the Gypster says: Ten years before that video was taken, Anna Torres, who runs a nonprofit animal shelter on donations and the proceeds from her teaching job, rescued the lion, Jupiter. He was starving and dehydrated and ill. She cared for him and still does and he is grateful and shows it.

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The focus of "The BeZine," a publication of The Bardo Group Beguines, is on sacred space (common ground) as it is expressed through the arts. Our work covers a range of topics: spirituality, life, death, personal experience, culture, current events, history, art, and photography and film. We share work here that is representative of universal human values however differently they might be expressed in our varied religions and cultures. We feel that our art and our Internet-facilitated social connection offer a means to see one another in our simple humanity, as brothers and sisters, and not as “other.” This is a space where we hope you’ll delight in learning how much you have in common with “other” peoples. We hope that your visits here will help you to love (respect) not fear. For more see our Info/Mission Statement Page.

2 thoughts on “LESSONS IN GRATITUDE

  1. I remember seeing this news story and was stunned to see that lion hugging his benefactor with pure, unadulterated love. Tickles and warms my heart.

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  2. Oh, these testaments to the love that animals are capable of feeling and giving! I get sooooo choked. And yes, Jamie, they do practice telepathy with us. I experience it several times a day with my little black cat, Duc. I wonder what he’s up to and he reports in. Amazes me.

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