My Cats bring me Heaven

"How far to heaven? Just open your eyes and look. You are in heaven" ~Shankar~

Sometimes we see a glimpse of our future through art and when I saw this picture, I got a little sad and felt comforted at the same time. That could be me in twenty years if I'm blessed enough to live that long. For I have two cats who bring me heaven each time I look at them, even when they're being the most naughty. When I read the above quote (one of the writing prompts from Mama Kat this week) I knew I had to redefine for myself what Heaven is because it's changed throughout my whole life except for the one constant joy and well of soul-love, my cats.

When I'm sitting quietly watching a movie or reading a book, one of my cats, Bella or Sele will softly jump on my lap and settle down as if I'm the safest place in the world to be. I'll be petting them and feel the soft rumble of their purring and know, this is heaven...and I'm their Mother Goddess.

It's one thing to look for an external source to help us through rough times and I often call on the Angels when I'm experiencing a dark night of the soul. There's another element to heaven when I can be the one to bring that comfort, joy and love to another sentient being. My son once gazed at me as if I was the Mother Goddess but now, I'm just "mom" which still means something important to him, but I'm not the all-being nurturer which is as it should be. But for my cats, I'm their refuge.

I was watching a fascinating documentary on where the first domesticated cat originated from. Years of research was put into this. The first domestic cat which I'm sure some of you have guessed was from Egypt. They called their cats "Mau" which meant "all-seeing" because the moon and sun were reflected in their eyes, to them that was a view of heaven.  Bastet one of their major deities was a goddess with the head of a cat and a body of a woman, who blessed all women, the home and family as well as being the goddess of major protector of cats.

The documentary made a point of saying, unlike the dog who needs a pack to live, cats are independent creatures, they can hunt for themselves, often are solitary and really don't need humans for our love. They have chosen through thousands of years to be our companions blessing us with their presence because they want to be with us. And believe me, most cats think that they're doing us a favor by hanging around us, rather than the other way around.

 I have a huge altar dedicated to Bastet and every day as my cats go outside for their twenty minute jaunt, I ask Bast for her blessings and to please protect and watch over my babies at all times. I feel a reverence and peace when I meditate at the altar and I feel heaven then and there. But when my cats are before me, that is when I see heaven the clearest.

 What is your vision of heaven and when do you see it most?