Yesterday I was an indiscriminate scratcher; Today I choose whether to be that which I was yesterday or that which I aspire to be tomorrow; Tomorrow I am a discriminate scratcher.  So I know what you must be thinking…What happens between yesterday (the past); today (NOW); and tomorrow (the future) to create something new?  It is the gap, that space where a new idea, a new thought, a new belief can take shape in the form of a new you.

You see, who I used to be made excuses; I practiced lazy thought; Allowed my attention to linger on those things that went ‘wrong’, that I didn’t want, that made me feel bad; Hid behind witty phrases like “I’m in a state of becoming…and you want to see change right now?!”  So when that reckless scratch happened out of inattention…you know, when something happens because your mind is in one place and your body is in another…you mark it up as an accident, plead for forgiveness, and then wonder why your feline friend is so frustrated when it happens again, and again, and again.

I remember when my feline neighbor, purring profusely, tail high in the air, donned her new crinkle tube.  Ah, it was a masterpiece of fun waiting to happen.  I haphazardly leaned against it and with a mere claw slippage, left a small but noticeable tear right down the middle.  She was purr-furious!  She immediately recalled the day that I unintentionally gutted her catnip mouse with a thoughtless paw swipe; left the surface of her treat ball marred for life; and created an opening along the seam line of her designer cushion.  My former response, “What’s the big deal?  I mean, really, aren’t you overreacting just a bit?”  She told me to rein my claws in or I would have to keep my paws off of her things.

Now, who I am is a product of my practiced thoughts and habitual beliefs about myself, others, and the world.  However, there is something significant that exists in this moment at the same time…there is that which was and that which is becoming and in that gap exists free will, choice, self-determinism.

So, I cross my paws; I take pause; I focus my attention; and I point my whiskers in the direction that I want to go.  I allow every sense that I have to come alive in this moment so that I’m actively engaged with my surroundings; I let go of any thing, any thought, any action that is out of my immediate control.

When I can be in the present moment without distracting or competing thoughts, I can begin to imagine and see myself as I choose to be now and in the future.  Once I choose, I can practice through repetition; Through repetition, I begin to believe; Through belief, I become; and through becoming, I am… for my former intention has become my new reality.

Who am I? I am who I say I am… I am the discriminate scratcher…

CatAWhack Here!  Yesterday I had an opportunity to see how much I have grown.  I was lounging on the screened in porch with my canine companion Renshu enjoying the sunshine, the great breeze, taking in the sights.  I thought to myself, “Life is good!”  Suddenly there was a rustle in a nearby bush.  Renshu stood at attention, eyes wide, ears up, scoping out the backyard for interlopers.   Out popped a big calico with a Cheshire Cat grin.  She raised one paw and pointed it in my direction, flashing a sharp outstretched claw and lowering her voice to a hiss she proclaimed, “You must be too stupid to be trapped behind a screen while I run free!  Are you afraid to step outside?  Maybe you just do what you are told because the human wears the tail in the family.  I dare you to come out.  I have a claw with your name on it.”

A comment like that 5 years ago would have sent me reeling into self-degradation.  My feelings would have been hurt because what they said I believed and how they viewed me mattered; I didn’t believe in myself, my value, my worthiness; I bought into the belief that there was something wrong with me; I felt powerless and as a result afraid.  I would have run, hid, or tried to appear small and invisible.

A comment like that a few years ago would have had me seeing red.  I would have been angry because out of my previous powerlessness, I decided that I wasn’t going to take it anymore.  It wasn’t ‘right’, it wasn’t ‘fair’, it was ‘unjust’.  I would have screeched back, hissed, claws out, hair standing up on end, and a glare in my eye.  I would have become confrontational.  Cat Fight!  Cat Fight!  Cat Fight!

Today, that comment rolled off of me with ease.  You see, now I feel empowered.  I’m no longer a scaredy cat.  I am neither fearful nor angry, but simply amused.  I know who I am.  I appreciate the unique qualities, characteristics, and attributes that I have.  I no longer care about the peanut gallery and what they think.  The calico’s comment cannot hurt me, anger me, or threaten me in any way unless I give my attention to it…unless I hand over my self-control…my ability to choose my thoughts, my ability to influence my emotional expression, and my ability to raise my energy and vibration to a state of well-being that finds such comments irrelevant.  I understand now through life experience that what she said had absolutely nothing to do with me and was simply a reflection of her self-created world.  I also know that the more I love and appreciate me, that unsolicited negative comments from others will no longer find their way into my experience.

So, all you cats, dogs, and humans out there remember who you are.  Don’t allow another being that is out of alignment with who they are to influence the way that you feel, your state of being, or the quality of your experience.  You are not what other people say.  You are not what other people believe.  You are what you say and what you believe.  So what’s it gonna be?  Who are you going to choose to be today?  Stand in your magnificence!

I am Cat. I am the CatAWhack. I am one of many expressions of the all that is with all of the qualities, characteristics, and attributes of the fee-line of creation. I imagine that you are curious how I received the name CatAWhack. It just doesn’t seem right to have Cat and Whack in the same name. I am a big advocate of peaceful interactions. Although I am a forward looking being and have no need to reflect on former experiences or relive my past, I will revisit only for the purpose of helping you understand how my name came to be…