20-10-24
The visit on this October full moon to shelter animals is extra special because our yoga teacher had asked to join us. It is her first trip to an animal shelter & the first time she ever held a kitten in her life.
When we arrived, the feline PR team at Mettacats & Dogs Sanctuary wasted no time in turning on their furry charm offensive.
Soon, our deep purple clad yoga teacher was knee deep in adoring eyes & fluffy ears that twitched at the cadence of human speech.
In return the teacher of homo sapien alignment gazed in amazement at the perfectly symmetrical markings on Hermit, the mackeral tabby, & the flawless landing of Toesie, the white cat, on a strip of arm rest about the width of a tissue paper folded in half.
Not to be outdone by his shelter buddies, Asher, the siamese strutted about at my teacher’s feet to show off his chonky form and sepia powdered ear tips and paws.
The chinese word for leisure is written as 閒 or 閑. One character features a moon 月 and the other wood 木. Each is framed by a door 門. Leisure can be understood as standing by one’s door to gaze at the Moon or the Woods (trees).
Despite months of intensive yoga teaching & busy housekeeping, our teacher wanted to spend her rare day of rest to understand love for animals.
That day behind the shelter door, a silence fell upon us like a comfy embrace as our eyes feasted on the sure footed grace of animals & the perfect love of their human keepers. 🙏
Lisa Ong 