Linking Spirit to Spirit...through the Internet! Thank you, God.

Sometimes, no matter how busy you are, you've just got to stop what you're doing...and listen. Or read.

That happens to me several times in the course of a day...and in a week...countless times. But each time I stop and listen and read, I always say, "Thank you, God."

Most of the "interruptions" I get come from my friends all over the country, some of whom I haven't seen in YEARS. But whenever I get their e-mails, I stop what I'm doing and read...because I know it is their way of touching my spirit...with their spirit. Those moments are PRICELESS!

One of my dearest friends whom I haven't seen for years...but with whom I feel as close as yesterday's conversation...is Joycelyn. She's in Colorado now. Even when she lived in the SF Bay Area years ago, we rarely saw each other...but stayed connected in spirit.

Just a few minutes ago, Joycelyn sent through an e-mail that puzzled me at first because it was about an invitation to an event in St. Louis. But I knew that this invitation had a message. So, I searched and quickly saw it was a link to a Website...then to a beautiful song.

I stopped...and listened to the song. It brought tears to my eyes, it was so beautiful...and caring and touching.

Then, I sent it on to a few other friends to touch them...to stop their day...to let them know that they are loved...and that no matter where the day is taking them, they are going be all right.

I love my e-mails. Each one is from a friend who knows I'll read them and screen them and, when appropriate, pass them on. You see, my friends know...I care.

Linking spirit to spirit to my friends whom I haven't seen in a long time is what I enjoy doing most...it makes me have a reason for "being."

Sometimes, too, we can link to things that don't have life but which bring just as much beauty and joy into our lives, or a special message.

For example, FROGS are at the entrance to my back and front doors....tucked away, but they are there...in my kitchen and other rooms discreetly placed. At one time, I HATED FROGS...I was scared of them in the place where I grew up and where they were plentiful. But I studied the Chinese way of home decorating, Feng Shui, which suggests that FROGS are a way of bringing prosperity into the home. It's then that I began to appreciate frogs and have displayed them ever since. In addition to Feng Shui, I now keep FROGS around for another special reason.

I'd run into a woman in a pet store who was purchasing live grasshoppers. I asked her why, and she explained that they were food for her FROGS: "FIRST RELY ON GOD," she said. Wow! She told me that on a day I really needed to hear that...and from that day, my love-fest with FROGS intensified.

Now...I look at my FROGS...and remember throughout the day to...FIRST, RELY ON GOD. Connecting to Spirit through FROGS.

Even more poignant for me in the spirit-to-spirit connection is my memory of Chelsea, a Tabby kitten I'd picked up less than a year ago. I'd brought Chelsea home because no one else wanted to take her, despite her beautiful golden and white coat and green eyes. She'd been found outside the building where I was doing work for a short period. But I couldn't let her go to the ASPCA. I just couldn't.

I remember having a lot of trepidation about how Chelsea would get along with Mikki, the golden retriever in my life at the time, too. Mikki was terribly possessive of me and everyone around her. True to form, Mikki gave Chelsea no peace, tormenting this poor kitten, 1/100th her size, at every chance she got.

I knew I had to think of a solution FAST...when I felt Chelsea's spirit.

One day, she sneaked into the dining room to be near me, even though she knew Mikki would have a go at her. And even though she was less than a month old, she was smart enough to know that Mikki was TOO BIG TO GET UNDER THE DINING ROOM TABLE.

I didn't know that Chelsea had snuck out of the bedroom until I heard Mikki's growling. What I saw touched me to the core.

Chelsea...scared as she was...was standing up with ALL her courage...her chest high...confronting Mikki...from under the table. Chelsea was scared...she was just a baby...but Chelsea knew that she had to battle for her survival with Mikki...NOW OR NEVER!

Seeing Chelsea like that...willing to risk her safety...to be near me made me decide: I'd have to be around all the time to keep her safe. That was not realistic.

So, quietly, the Spirit within me led me to find...within a few days...a family with two boys who already had two cats and were looking for a third.

I cried hard when I turned Chelsea over to Betty and her husband, Bob, who were both understanding but anxious that I would not change my mind. They need not have worried.

My spirit knew what I had to do. You see...Chelsea's spirit linked to mine...in that moment...she displayed her COURAGE...and SPIRIT!

Friends...FROGS...Cats.
Spirit linking to Spirit.

Thank you, God!

Namaste',

Che'