Balboa Park Japanese Garden, Wikimedia Commons
Sometime ago, on a site called Bubblews, I wrote a post about funny things my late husband said. This one made me chuckle.
To tell the story you need a little background. We had two cats. One of them, Lady Ghost, had diabetes. She has since gone over the rainbow bridge to that place that cats like to play. That meant she was either drinking or urinating in the litter box. Multiple times each day. My dear husband had volunteered to be the litter box cleaner, which had evolved to a chore done at least three times a day. We bought the large economy sizes of cat litter when we went shopping. You also have to know that usually each cleaning of the box was accompanied by assorted grumbles and complaints about how much litter the cats used and their tendency to complain when it gets soiled.
One day we made our bimonthly marathon trip to Walmart. When we got home it was getting very cold so I crawled in bed. My hubby also volunteered to put the groceries away because he liked things in a certain order and only he could fit everything in the freezer.
So I was laying in bed, reading a book, when I heard the words, “I am Zen raking the kitty litter.” I looked up to find him sitting on the floor in front of the kitty litter, raking across it after having changed the litter. What made me chuckle was the tone of voice he was using. He obviously had learned something from his Acceptance Commitment Therapy which focused on mindfulness. He spoke in a quiet, meditative manner and proceeded to explain to the other cat, Wiley, who was waiting anxiously to use the Zen litter box, that he needed to be aware of and appreciate the designs resulting from the Zen raking.
We had quite a long discussion about this new way of looking at the litter box. My husband explained that he was qualified to create a Zen cat box because he had been to two very notable Zen Gardens. One is in San Francisco's Japanese Village and one in Balboa Park in San Diego. Plus, he said, he had read the Tao of Meow.
The whole concept of Zen is to be aware of the present moment. As the masters say, "Before Enlightenment, chop wood carry water. After Enlightenment, chop wood, carry water." To that we will add, clean litter box. We now refer to it as “Zen Raking” the litter box.
“Flow with whatever may happen, and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.” Zhuangzi, Chinese Philosopher
To tell the story you need a little background. We had two cats. One of them, Lady Ghost, had diabetes. She has since gone over the rainbow bridge to that place that cats like to play. That meant she was either drinking or urinating in the litter box. Multiple times each day. My dear husband had volunteered to be the litter box cleaner, which had evolved to a chore done at least three times a day. We bought the large economy sizes of cat litter when we went shopping. You also have to know that usually each cleaning of the box was accompanied by assorted grumbles and complaints about how much litter the cats used and their tendency to complain when it gets soiled.
One day we made our bimonthly marathon trip to Walmart. When we got home it was getting very cold so I crawled in bed. My hubby also volunteered to put the groceries away because he liked things in a certain order and only he could fit everything in the freezer.
So I was laying in bed, reading a book, when I heard the words, “I am Zen raking the kitty litter.” I looked up to find him sitting on the floor in front of the kitty litter, raking across it after having changed the litter. What made me chuckle was the tone of voice he was using. He obviously had learned something from his Acceptance Commitment Therapy which focused on mindfulness. He spoke in a quiet, meditative manner and proceeded to explain to the other cat, Wiley, who was waiting anxiously to use the Zen litter box, that he needed to be aware of and appreciate the designs resulting from the Zen raking.
We had quite a long discussion about this new way of looking at the litter box. My husband explained that he was qualified to create a Zen cat box because he had been to two very notable Zen Gardens. One is in San Francisco's Japanese Village and one in Balboa Park in San Diego. Plus, he said, he had read the Tao of Meow.
The whole concept of Zen is to be aware of the present moment. As the masters say, "Before Enlightenment, chop wood carry water. After Enlightenment, chop wood, carry water." To that we will add, clean litter box. We now refer to it as “Zen Raking” the litter box.
“Flow with whatever may happen, and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.” Zhuangzi, Chinese Philosopher
Background image per Pixabay