We took a taxi, boat, another taxi to get there. It took us 2 hours (5 hours if you walk). There were a few Bedouin camps, some kite surfers and the beautiful light blue, clear water of the Blue Lagoon (North Eastern Red Sea). As soon as we sat down on the carpets by the sea, 2 of them came to greet us. They were very friendly; they let us pet them, scratch their bellies, came when we beckoned and snuggled with us, even though we had no food. When we did get food, more of them appeared. They ate from our hands, they were relatively friendly with each other and even though they raced to the food, they didn’t growl, hiss or hit each other over it. Unlike city cats, these desert cats showed no signs of fear, intimidation or even shyness. Their body language, in human-ese, said: “Welcome to my home. Make yourself at home. We love you!” When other people arrived, they went over and greeted them with body rubs and cute blinks (slow blinks mean “I love you” in cat language). This unexpected behavior happily surprised me and got me thinking. These cats obviously have never been mistreated by humans. They are loved and therefore radiate back love to anyone they encounter, be it humans or other animals. How beautiful and refreshing! I could imagine out there in the remote desert, there aren’t many people to start with, and those who make it here, don’t have the time or temperament to mistreat animals.
Animals, including the human ones, are the product of their environment. If they are loved, well treated and cared for, they will radiate that back to the world. If they are mistrusted, feared, mutilated (even in infancy), imprisoned or abused in any way, they are bound to be aggressive, defensive, abusive and mistrust the world. Sadly, our current human culture is the product of thousands of years of fear and scarcity. We don’t know anything else and we spread it to other creatures. Yet intellectually and cellularly, we know there is another way. Can we change our dominant culture to one of love and abundance? If a little kitten can, so can we. It’s actually very simple. When these friendly cats approached us and gave us so much joy, pleasure and love, they weren’t thinking, planning or plotting. They didn’t think “what if they beat us?” or any other negative thoughts. They simply followed their bliss; whatever makes them happy. By indulging in their own pleasure, they gave us joy. No thinking, judgement or fear. Just going with what feels good: warmth, touch, scratches, food, rest…etc. No interference from the mind. Our biggest human curse, is our unique gift: the thinking mind. It’s addicted to fear and if left unchecked, it gets very destructive. Indulging in safe healthy pleasure is a great way to turn off the thinking mind. Wait, it gets better!
Life is like a boomerang: feed it love, it comes back to you in abundance. Project fear and mistrust, that’s what you’ll get back. You reap what you sow. When we spread love, starting with ourselves, we get back more love. Pretend you’re a spoilt kitten: follow your bliss and watch the magic unfold!
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Unconditional Love 