Cats and Cacti!

I re-potted some cacti that I have in my house two weeks ago, before the coldness of winter brought their growth to dormancy. I wanted to give the plants time to root comfortably in the bigger pots before halted by the cold. I am surprised, two weeks on, how much they have grown in that time as their growth is usually very slow! It looks like they are happy with the new space and new source of nourishment!

The same analogy may be applied to us and to all that we do. We sometimes wait for the space of a weekend away or some special time for refreshment to occur or go to inspiring seminars to gain a different perspective. However, the time or space needed to refresh or seek new ideas might be found in the small space in which we might be currently. Perhaps, we could adapt the attitude and cunning of a cat (I love cats!) where they can find opportunity in the tiniest of physical spaces and emerge, almost like magic, from the tightest of places, in which there was just the right space! It's about making that space at the right time as waiting might provide it too late for benefit.

Most people's lives are very busy. We complain about busyness, but is it not wonderful to have the ability to be busy and deal with it well, for the most part! Busyness is a response to the many opportunities available to us, our families and children. In the middle of the busyness, we can find and make that little space that can allow growth, ideas, fun and friendships to grow and be enjoyed. Sometimes taking five minutes in the right physical, mental or spiritual space can be just what is needed to have the energy to get on with the rest of the day or week. A five-minute walk down a corridor or the same time away from technology is sometimes enough to find a suitably creative solution with which we can emerge like the cat. Working with what we have rather than longing for what we can’t have right now is the more fertile territory.

Let's adopt the attitude of the cat and make the very best of the spaces that we have, to pop out in a new place in our heads and hearts, even if we are feeling as thorny as the cacti! The cactus, and cacti moments, are perfectly manageable when handled the right way!

Cathy Burke
Catechist in the Lucan Partnership of Parishes