I heard a faint meow coming from the yard across the street.  A big brown tabby came running as if I was his long lost friend.  He greeted me with enthusiasm, and enthused himself right into the house, before I could stop him.  I put him outside, but he patiently showed us that he knew how to use a cat door, 3 times, with what I think was a smile on his face.

We placed Found signs in the neighborhood, ads in two newspapers, and asked everyone we met.  No answers.  After a week went by, we began to ask our friends if they’d like a new cat.  He was everything we described…peaceful, loving, adaptable, friendly, and easy to have around.  No takers.  Then someone said they’d like to come by and meet him…a potential new owner. They wanted a different type of cat.

Day 8:  I woke up in a very funky mood…not sure why.  I couldn’t pinpoint what I was feeling…out of sorts?  I write and teach joy.  I wasn’t feeling much of it, and couldn’t shake my strange mood.  I was working on my book, The Joy Choice, in which I share how to restore a loving attitude when fear or anger is active in our mind.  I took the steps to discover what my present attitude was.  It wasn’t fear or anger, but it didn’t feel like love.  I was grumpy, weepy, and absolutely down-n-n-n…what was it?

I busied myself, tried to concentrate on writing, tried to prepare for a trip coming up.  There was something I hadn’t remembered to do.  I got quiet and still and asked Spirit for help.  I asked:

• When have I felt these feelings before?
• If I did know what I was feeling, what would it be?
  

Thoughts popped into my mind of when my dad was dying from cancer.  What did this have to do with what I was feeling?  I let myself really feel the feelings.  Sadness welled up in me, and I cried.  The feeling was sadness, but there was more. I was feeling love, attachment, and not wanting to give him up. I was feeling that I had to accept my loss and be mature…it was simply what I must do.  What did this have to do with a stray cat?

That’s when I got it. I didn’t want to make this decision with my intellect.  I needed to get out of my head.  I knew we weren’t looking for another cat, it wasn’t practical, or mature to even consider another.  My heart said something else. I decided to share my feelings with my husband, and he surprised me with his answer.

How often do you give yourself time and space to really know what you feel? How often do you check with your heart?  Your heart does not always appear to be practical, but it understands more than your intellect can consciously know.  When you check with your heart, you get the answers which don’t always make sense at first, but they always bring love and peace.

Too many cats?  We wouldn’t have made a conscious choice to seek out another one.  Our pets have mostly found us..they’ve chosen us.  We believe in adopting strays, especially when they are placed squarely in our paths.  Many of the best things in life arrive when we’re not looking for them. Let me introduce a new member of the family….We named him…what else? Joy!

Joy & Blessings,
Carole  xx

We often hear the term consciousness used, yet seldom defined.  I love this definition of consciousness by Eric Butterworth, one of my greatest inspirations:  “Consciousness might be defined as:  All your ideas and attitudes and beliefs…both the things that come to you, and the things that have been accepted by you.  It is your feeling about life about God, about yourself.  You are a spiritual being, living in a limitless spiritual world, but you manifest only as much of that limitlessness as you feel at one with.  This is consciousness.”

Most of us go through life trying to be a good person.  When I heard someone say one day, “What I’m receiving now, I have given in the past,” a heartbulb went off.  If a person is happy, prosperous, and loved, that truth sounds good.  If life is sad, lonely, and lacking, it’s a hard truth to embrace.

I have a little box…I like boxes.  It says, “Dance like no one is looking, sing like no one can hear you, love like you can’t be hurt.”  I added, “Give like you have plenty.”

You have to give unconditionally…you know it in your heart. Giving, being of service, making a contribution, is a joy choice. You benefit every time you give, even if it’s not received…and many times it won’t be received…keep giving anyway. You will open up the flow to bring more consciousness into your life every time you give.

My dad’s name was Worth.  It’s one of my favorite words for a multitude of reasons.  Dad was a giver.  He and my mom taught me to give.  I’ve known lots of givers in my life.  They taught me that it doesn’t work if you give to receive.  If you give, you feel worthy of receiving, and then you receive naturally.

• Go way past thinking of service as just time and money
• Give anytime you can
• Give to friends, strangers, loved ones any way you can
• Take time for living things.  Communicate with people…talk to the elderly woman in the supermarket, acknowledge a service person, hold open a door, smile at someone, help!
• Give more than is asked of you
• Don’t store it, share it!  You learned that at 3 years old…share your joy, your abilities, your attention, your time, your love.