The cat that saved my life...

When I was young and on my own, I shared an apartment on the top of a house that was a hundred and fifty years old..

It had stained glass windows and spoke words to me of once being a house of opulence..

They was the days of the "Woodstock years"..

Candles and incense were always burning..

A poor family, living on welfare lived below us on the first floor.

My friend and myself had separate bedrooms on the third floor attic.

As was our custom, we drank wine and celebrated life often..

I smoked camel cigarettes at that time and would occasionally irritate my cat by blowing smoke into his face, only to see him scurry away in dismay..

I picked this cat out of a group of cats because, he was the only one that was not afraid to walk up to me on first meeting.

One time in meditation, I received the name that I should give to this cat..

The name was 'Chanda'.

Why, this name was given to me is unknown..

Chanda became my best friend and had no reason to be housebroken, as he always went outside to comply with nature..

Being poor, we had no heat in the attic and slept covered with a few blankets..

One night, I was awakened by a strong scratching and meowing at my door..

I opened the door to see Chanda amid the smoke of a fire that was within the room of my fellow tenant..

I opened the door to my roommate to see the blanket on him was ablaze and he was still asleep..

I grabed the blanket and ran downstairs to dose it with water from the tub..

Chanda saved our lives, even though he feared smoke..

He thought of me over himself..

This is the definition of Love...


namaste, thomas