The cat on the golden leash

DAILY BYTE

In these BDC devotions this week we’ve reflected on the themes of focus, presence and attention. We’ve considered the story of Martha who, worried and distracted by many things, missed out on the peace that Christ brought near.

As we conclude these devotions this week I’d like to share with you a humorous story about what can easily happen when we lose our focus, and allow superficial, peripheral things to distract our attention.

The story is told of a young man who sought out an old hermit who lived in a cave high up in the mountains. He asked the hermit to teach him the meaning of life. The hermit agreed, but said it was first necessary for him to learn to meditate. And so they began.

But a cat kept wandering into the cave and distracted the young man from his meditation. And so, being practically minded, the hermit would simply tie up the cat so that it would not be a distraction. Soon, others joined the young man in learning to meditate, and whenever the cat wandered into the cave the hermit would tie it up. Then the hermit died, but those who had been practicing meditation continued, and whenever the cat wandered into the cave, somebody would tie it up.

Then the cat died. And somebody said, ‘Now how are we going to meditate without the cat?’ And so they bought another cat and tied it up so that they could meditate. Then someone said, ‘It’s not right that this holy cat be tied up with an ordinary piece of rope.’ And so a golden leash for the cat was bought.

Soon the cat on the golden leash was brought into the middle of the group, and became the focus of their meditation. Years later, anthropologists discovered an unusual religion high in the mountains that venerated a tethered cat made of gold, but none of them knew why the cat had been tied up in the first place.

The distraction of peripheral things can diminish the richness of life, allowing subtle distortions to creep into our living that can rob us of the gift of peace that the ever-present Christ seeks to bring.

And so, whatever tasks and responsibilities may be yours, may you extend the hospitality of true presence to that which has been given to you, offering an unwavering focus on what is truly important. And whatever the circumstances of your life, may your undivided heart and singular devotion open you to the presence and peace of Christ, which is surely with you.

PRAY AS YOU GO

For our prayer today I’d like to share this poem by Mary Oliver, that speaks of a mindfulness in the midst of the ordinary things of life, and points to what can be true for all of our lives. It’s entitled ‘Mindful’

Every day I see or hear something
that more or less kills me with delight,
that leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light.
It was what I was born for – to look, to listen,
to lose myself inside this soft world-
to instruct myself over and over in joy, and acclamation.
Nor am I talking about the exceptional,
the fearful, the dreadful, the very extravagant –
but of the ordinary, the common, the very drab, the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar, I say to myself
how can you help but grow wise with such teachings as these –
the untrimmable light of the world,
the ocean’s shine,
the prayers that are made out of grass?