Being Human

 

Same for cats too!  

When we choose to love unconditionally,

speak with kindness, 

give simply for the joy of sharing and 

care without asking anything in return .....

With Metta,

DA

Cat Wisdom

 

Milo

Milo and his namesake 

 Hi, I'm Milo, Ning's friend.  I don't know who gave me my name, it's probably because I am brown like the Milo cocoa beverage!

I am a volunteer in the village's cat shelter for sick and homeless cats.  I like my work there because it gives me great satisfaction to be able to help these poor cats.

My hobbies are ghost busting, hiking, carolling. 

 If you want to make friends with me and also join me in my voluntary work, just drop a line to Ning's email address:

MeowManager99@catmail.com

Oh, by the way, thanks, Da for posting this in your blog.  

God bless,

Milo

Homeless cats need love too

Ning is Happy

 

Cat Wisdom

 

Pumpkin Buddies

Only a few days left and soon the "Ghost Month" will be over!  This last month, the temple columbarium was busy with many people coming with offerings for their departed loved ones and we were also kept busy with prayers throughout the day.  

Come to think of it, during this time, I saw very little of my two ghost pals, HD (Humpty Dumpty) and PH (Pumpkin Head) who reside in one of the niches in the columbarium (I call it "The Palace"!).  They must be catching up with their friends and happily enjoying the offerings!

I was getting ready for bed when this thought crossed my mind, then suddenly I saw PH coming towards me, as though he had read my thoughts, and with him another ghost with a pumpkin head identical to his.

"PH, where's HD?"  I asked.  He never goes anywhere without HD and it was unusual that this time he had some other ghost with him.

"For goodness sake, Vege Cat," said the second pumpkin head.  "Can't you see it's me?"

"Huh?  You mean you're HD?  How come you've got a pumpkin head?"

HD replied impatiently, "My friend here has been down in the dumps over the last few weeks, so to cheer him up, I decided to be his pumpkin buddy."

"Oh.  But what's bothering you, PH?"  I asked.

I was surprised when he burst into tears.  "Boo hoo!"

HD then explained that during the ghost month, they had been revelling with their spooky counterparts and unfortunately many made fun of PH and said he was a  "leftover" from last Halloween.  It upset him terribly and he hadn't been able to sleep nights because of this.

"Just ignore them, PH," I said, trying to offer some consolation.  "You're a very special ghost, there's none other with a pumpkin head like yours that can light up anytime you want it to."

HD was looking very thoughtful, then he said excitedly, "I've got an idea!  Why don't I change your pumpkin head to something else?  Hmmm, I think you would look cute as a little girl...." and he snapped his fingers and PH turned into a little girl ghost.  Then HD turned himself into a little boy ghost!

.

"There!  Don't we look cute together?" he asked me.

PH took a look in the mirror and shrieked.  "Eeeek, give me back my head, you idiot!  I don't want to be a silly little girl!"

"Actually, I think you look very cute," I said, cheekily, trying not to giggle.

"Alright, alright, no need to get excited," said HD and he changed both of them back to pumpkin heads.

Then, to my shock, I saw at least five or six pumpkin head ghosts sail into the kitchen - and they were all lady ghosts!  Good grief, I thought to myself, how come so many ladies had suddenly lost their heads.....!

"Hey, Pussycat, do your friends want to join our pumpkin party?" they called out.

I saw PH's pumpkin head light up and turn 360 degrees - twice.

"Sure we do!" he yelled, dragging HD with him and the whole bunch of them disappeared into the night.

"Have fun!" I shouted after them, happy that PH had forgotten his misery.

So who said ghosts don't have their own fun?  I can't wait to hear from PH what happened that night!

P.S.  The "Ghost Month" officially ends on 10 Sept. 

Cat Wisdom

 Kind words can being comfort and hope to those around you.  So always speak kindly and gently.

With Metta,

DA

The Candle in the Window

This is the month for ghost stories and Ning and Milo have one to tell!

I ran into Milo on my way home from the village the other evening.  He had just finished his voluntary work at the cat shelter and asked whether I would like to go for a walk since it was a lovely evening. It must have been around seven and as we walked, we talked about all things under the sun.  

After strolling for some time, we realised that we had come to the area where old Mr. Grumpy (who died last Christmas) lived.  

We paused in front of his house and were surprised to see a light in the front window. Milo cried excitedly, "Ning, there's a candle in the window!  Do you think his ghost has returned?  This is the "Ghost month", is it not?"

I laughed and said, "Milo, I didn't know you believe in ghosts!  Mr. Grumpy is probably resting in peace in heaven or wherever humans go when they die."

He ignored what I said and ran to the window and peeped inside, then turned back and said, "It's too dark, I can't see anything."

"Come on, Milo," I said.  "Let's go!  Enough of ghost busting for tonight!"

We were about to leave when suddenly, we saw the shadowy figure of a woman approach the house and vanish inside.  I thought it strange that we hadn't seen her coming up the road.

Then we heard footsteps behind us and a voice said, "Hello, are you two looking for someone?"

We turned round to see an old man smiling at us.

"Oh, hello, Uncle Ko," said Milo.  "Ning, remember Uncle?  We sang at his house last Christmas."

"Aah, yes, of course, you're the cat carollers from the village!" said the old man.  "Can I help you both?"

Milo told him that we were passing by, saw the light in Mr. Grumpy's window and a woman entering the house.

"Is someone living there now?" asked Milo curiously.

A strange look came over the old man 's face, then he said, "Why don't you two come over to my house for a cup of tea?  I shall share with you a little story."

 Uncle Ko very kindly served us fragrant jasmine tea and biscuits in his kitchen and we settled down to hear his story.

"Even though I live so close to him, your "Mr. Grumpy" never talked to me or even paid me a visit," began Uncle Ko.  "From what I heard, his wife died many years ago and left him to raise their daughter.  Unfortunately, when she grew up, they had a terrible fight, over what I don't know, and she left him to go to the States to work.  She never came back, not even for a brief visit.  He was devastated and that's why he became more and more withdrawn."

"Then just a few days before last Christmas, I was surprised when Mr. Grumpy invited me to his house.  He had a strange request.  He said that should anything happen to him, I am to light a candle and put it in his front window every Friday night.  When I asked him why, I saw tears well up in his eyes and he whispered, "To guide my daughter home."  I was puzzled by what he said but seeing how sad he was, I didn't have the heart to ask any more questions and promised him I would do as he requested.  As you know, he died on Christmas night or was it Christmas Eve?  And that's not all.  Later, I learnt that his daughter had been killed in a road accident in the States just a week or so before Christmas."

"Oh, no!" exclaimed Milo.  

Uncle Ko stopped to brush a tear from his eye, then continued.  

"Apparently, in the last one or two years, his daughter had regretted her rash action and she started calling him from the States every week.  They reunited over the phone and she was supposed to return home on a Friday if she hadn't been killed in that accident  ..... that's why he wanted me to light a candle every Friday to "guide her home"....."

"So the woman we saw was his daughter?"  I asked. 

Uncle Ko nodded.  "I've seen her several times, she appears only on Friday nights to have a rendezvous with her father and today is Friday."

 After listening to Uncle Ko's story, we felt so sorry for poor Mr. Grumpy.  We had no idea he suffered so much.  Everyone thought of him as a senile old man who didn't like people and nobody really bothered about him.

"But for how long are you going to light the candle?" asked Milo.

Uncle Ko smiled and said, "Until he tells me to stop."

We were both strangely silent when we walked home.  I was not surprised when Milo asked whether he could spend the night with me. I knew the story he just heard touched his heart deeply and he didn't want to be alone for the night.

Before I fell asleep, I wondered what Da would say when I tell him the story.

Fragrant jasmine tea and biscuits for us

Thank you, O Blessed One

 

Cat Wisdom

With Metta,

DA