The Cost of Peacemaking

I've just risen from a very good sleep, turned on the news to see what's going on in this crazy world and wouldn't you know it, we've gone and started (or come out of remission) of another damn war. I cannot understand why we can't just get along. Why are we so territorial as humans? In all of creation (or evolution or whatever) are we not purportedly to be the most highly intelligent of creatures?!?

I think cats are smarter! I am a lover of cats, always have been, grew up with dozens of cats (not all at once of course). I had a very lovely dog for 12 years who passed away just this spring; she was a sweet dog... but cats, I don't know; maybe just my perpetual contact in my formative years, but I love cats. I have a mixed Persian pussycat right now named "Baxter". He is a sweetie. He is even tempered, doesn't want to bite me or scratch me (unless I get too involved in the playing thing - then he forgets he has nails). I've read up about Persians; of all the breeds they are known to be the most easy going, non-aggressive, pleasant kitties to have around. They are good with children... just plain easy going. Can get along with other cats, just generally an all around great breed to have around. Isn't it ironic that the Persian cat originates in the very region that is currently THE hotbed of utter inability to get along????!!!! Unbefrickinbelievable!

I found this book on sale in a bookstore some time back titled "What My Cat Has Taught Me About Life". It is a nice little book of meaningful stories to enable meditation designed for cat lovers but I think appropriate for anyone really. The author is someone by the name of Niki Anderson. I found what I think is an appropriate meditation for these days we are in; just something to ponder over as we watch the news and the people dying for what reason? I am not particularly a political person but I am a caring human who likes to get along and especially likes cats. Follow along.....

"Being a peacemaker may cause some fur to fly"
Ginger, my childhood red Shepherd, and our white cat Scooter were true comrades. When Ginger snoozed near the fireplace, Scooter snuggled against Ginger's pudgy tummy. In their mock fights, Scooter let Ginger hold his head in her jaws. If an intruding cat or a hostile dog ventured onto the cat's territory, Ginger made quick pursuit in Scooter's defense. I was twelve years old when I witnessed an amazing rescue, as Scooter saved Ginger from an irascible dog.
It was long before the days of leash laws. I sat on the front porch stroking Ginger's head, when a Rottweiler strutted down the street. He darted from the curb to the porch in a flash. His sudden approach and the aggression in his eyes terrorized me, and Ginger was totally unprepared for the unprovoked attack which followed. "Stop! Get outta here!" I screamed. Helpless, I watched a blur of wrestling movements so rapid I couldn't distinguish one dog from another.
Scooter ambled around the corner of the garage just in time to see Ginger in grave trouble. To my astonishment, in a split second Scooter leaped into the middle of the fray. Now added to the snaps and growls were hisses and yowls and a tumbling white streak. In an instant, the cat's entrance confused the opponent and he withdrew in bewilderment. With dampened fur, Scooter and Ginger watched the rascal flee as quickly as he had come.
Scooter was an ambassador of peace, but it cost him exposure and risk. The common advice to stay out of the middle may not always apply. Mediators must often place themselves at the center of trouble to negotiate peace. Don't always shun involvement. Jumping in the middle may hasten a peace.
Paws for Prayer: Dear God, give me the courage to go to the center of a conflict if you have appointed me as peacemaker. Amen.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God (Matthew 5:9)

The above excerpt taken from Niki Anderson's, What My Cat Has Taught Me About Life - Meditation for Cat Lovers, published by Honor Books, Inc 1997, Tulsa Oklahoma(ISBN 1-56292-366-8).