Happy Caturday: temple cats and pigeons by the river.

Life has been quite vexing and confusing to me lately with all the strange energies flying around. This could be because there’s been a partial lunar eclipse and a full solar eclipse which would be passing America very soon (April 8, 2024). There have been weird news and rumours flying around the internet. I thought we were lucky not to be able to see the solar eclipse in our country. It generally gave us some apprehensions and unsettling feelings so people would avoid having important meetings on that day.

I still had an unfinished post which has been left attended for several days; that just reflected how the strong energies have affected my routine and my sleep. Then there were big earthquakes in several countries two days ago! People were taking about the Madrid fault line in America and some thought the solar eclipse would create more disruptive energy around the earth. I tried to brush overwhelming anxiety aside and went to feed stray cats at Yannawa temple. These cats always gave me positive energy and helped to be more grounded.

The weather was getting hotter every day but I found out that the atmosphere at the temple was much cooler. Being close to the river did help a lot; the gentle breezes and calming energy from the river made my day. I needed to be by the river. Those temple cats were expecting me and they showed so much joy and enthusiasm in greeting me. They treated me as if I was a famous VIP. These smart cats were very affectionate and surprisingly well behaved. They had amazing sensitivity and quick reactions to potential threats. I would observe these cats when they sensed something strange or threatening from a distance. They had such good ears and psychic perceptions for their own survival. I had a lot to learn from these cats.

Those black cats were very close to each other and would share their food. The newly arrived orange cat had to be careful not to offend these black cats. I tried to tell them to be kind towards each other as they were all in the same boat. Fortunately they wouldn’t get into actual fight when I was around. The new orange cat was the only stray cat that could hunt the pigeons. He got lucky twice already. Other stray cats just couldn’t be fast enough to snatch the pigeon from their groups. The need for survival made that orange cat to strive for quick and quiet attack on the pigeon; it was finished in a flash.

I still looked around for the lady on motor bike who used to feed these cats several months ago. I hoped nothing serious happened to her; she told me she had four shots and felt the negative effects. Her father became ill because of those jabs; so she had to look after him. I thought that her father had probably passed away and she could return to the temple where she spent hours with some of her favourite cats. I wished I had known what happened to this kind lady.

These cats knew they had to wait a few minutes for me to get organised with the dishes and pouring out cat food. The young man selling fish by the river would feed these black cats from time to time. Live fish were sold to visitors so that they could release them into the river. People believed that setting live fish free would bring them good karma. These fish were either bought from the wet market or ordered from fish farm outside Bangkok.

This week, I noticed the elderly black and white cat was missing. I hope nothing serious happened to her. Besides the crazy lady had disappeared from the temple during the last two weeks. But I couldn’t be sure that she wouldn’t come during the night. The skinny monk told me that he spotted her once during the last two weeks. I hoped she didn’t come to perform her final ritual killing before she went back to the south. The monk told me that she had criminal record concerning planting bombs in the south; she had connections with local terrorists and drug traffickers.

It’s just so sad to see well educated person got sucked into that swirl of criminal activities. She told me that she had to see doctors and psychiatrists, but she felt much better and the doctor had reduced her medication. She seemed to have split personality; like Hyde and Jeckle. She would become very aggressive and vengeful when confronted with the skinny monk over her killings of temple cats. But she was always very nice and polite when talking to me. I had always been very polite and nice to her, I was trying to appeal to her ‘good’ side in her subconscious. I have accidentally developed a knack of talking to my listener’s unconscious. I found out that this was the best way to gain friendliness and to disarm hostile reaction. I hope she would settle down in the south and never returned to the temple again.

The skinny monk told me one young cat had died several days ago. I thought I knew this cat; I called him Thomas. The last time I have him some medicine he was looking quite weak. He wouldn’t eat any food so I gave him some medicine. I had a bad feeling about him and told the monk that he needed to see the vet if he didn’t feel better after taking the medicine. I could hear that his lungs were badly affected and he couldn’t breathe comfortably. It seemed he passed away the following day. He gave me a strange look; very direct look with his eyes telling me some message. He never looked directly at me like that before. He was probably saying goodbye to me.

The last thing I did for him was to carry him back to his usual hiding spot where he had the shelter and far away from other cats. I told him to wait till I returned but his body couldn’t take the burden any longer. I didn’t understand why a strong and healthy young cat could have both lungs badly infected. The skinny monk told me that he was caught in the rain one evening. Then he fell into a fish pond while drink water. A novice helped to take him out of the fish pond. So, I knew why his lungs were so damp and infected. Poor Thomas, I hoped he had a good rest and a peaceful transition into the next reincarnation. I still missed him and felt very sad for his untimely departure.

Life has to go on even though the petrol prices had increased four times in a week and the gold prices were shooting to record highs every few days. The future seems rather gloomy as kinetic confrontations seems more probable than ever. Fortunately we are far away from the circle of attrition. But some repercussions would be felt by people around the world. I hope and pray for some divine intervention and the cooling of down of heated situations.

May all sentient beings be peaceful and free from sufferings.

Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.

Stay strong and cheerful.