Is it possible that giving love to other creatures can bring good things to you? Maybe so. |
In the Dark of the Basement Preface The Being was very old and very tired. It had existed in dark places for eons, and darkness was all it knew. The Being had a form that consisted of energy and thoughts, but possessed no physical aspects; it was not a creature of matter. It was aware of the nearby light, but had no interest in experiencing it. Should the Being ever venture forth into the light, none of the other living things in the area would be able to see it. The Being was aware of the other living things that came and went nearby. Small animals were always passing nearby, but they were always focusing their entire awareness upon avoiding predators; they never had energy to spare for the Being. Only recently had other living things had any impact on the Being. The people called Musquakie had briefly caught the attention of the Being when they bid farwell to their dead on the edges of the dark areas. The Being noticed the life energies of the dead passing from the corpses, but it was never able to communicate with the energies. Then, barely a moment ago in the awareness of the Being, settlers built houses all around and through the dark areas, cutting down the trees and blasting away the rocks that provided the dark. But these new intruders conveniently provided new dark spaces. The Being found one dark space, large and cool and quiet enough, built by one of the intruders. The fact that a building was erected on top of the dark space didn't bother the Being. The life-forms that inhabited the building were of no concern, either. They would never become aware of the Being - they never did. Chapter 1 Chuck and Brenda were ecstatic. They had both lived on the west coast all their lives, and had looked forward for decades to escaping from the insanity. The offer of a decent-paying job for Chuck with a company in the Great Plains seemed like a godsend. They were finally able to live in a little town with very little traffic, a real honest-to-gosh town square, and real seasons. What amazed them more than anything was they could finally afford to buy a house of their own! Finally, a house they could call their own, with room for them and the cats and their stuff. It all seemed too good to be true, but here they were. Chuck sat on the swing on the front porch, dividing his attention between the two youngest cats wrestling in the front room and the squirrels scampering around the big maple tree in the front yard. His work schedule was tiring and they still had a lot of work to do before they would consider themselves fully moved in. but at the end of the day they could sit on the porch swing to enjoy the twilight or lounge under the tree in the back yard and watch the cats chasing bugs and leaves. Life was nice, and Chuck's stress level was lower than it had been in years. Going back in to the house, Chuck wondered where all the cats were. The kittens were still wrestling in the front room, but one of them must have gotten a little too rough - the other one let loose with a cry and bolted from the front room, between Chuck's legs, and dashed through the door to the basement. Calling out softly to the scared kitten, Chuck descended the stairs to the basement. He found the kitten sitting on top of the washing machine, being groomed by the eldest member of the clowder. To his surprise, he also saw three of the four remaining cats downstairs. Amee was stretched out on a shelf, Sams had opened a box of towels and was napping on top of them, and Bettina was meowing to him from atop the workbench. "Silly cats, I thought you liked the back yard! What's with hanging out down here? Come on, let's go outside and enjoy this spring weather! You're going to really miss it when winter arrives." As Chuck headed toward the first floor he heard the rattle of collar tags as a steady stream of cats raced up the stairs and towards the back door. Later that day, and Chuck and Brenda relaxed in the lawn chairs under the spreading boughs of the maple tree, they discussed the cat's behavior. "So, what do you suppose is up with the cat's and their hanging around the basement?", Chuck asked. "They seem to always run down there when they're scared or startled, or when they aren't playing outside or eating. is it just me, or does that seem strange to you"? "Yeah, I've wondered about that too. I thought maybe it was that they liked the cooler temperatures, but then when they do come out of the basement they lie down on the sunniest windowsills or on sunny patches of carpet. It beats me. Although I have noticed that when I go down there to do laundry or clean litter boxes, within a few minutes any worries I had before have either diappeared or start to feel a lot smaller. Have you felt that? Do you supposed the kitties feel something similar?" "Yes, sweetie, now that you mention it I guess I have. It's weird - what with the basement being unfinished and all, you'd think that my claustrophobia would make me feel uneasy, but every time I spend time there I do end up pretty quickly relaxing and mellowing out. That's so bizarre!" "Maybe so, but don't knock it. It's cheaper than antidepressants and probably healthier in the long run." Chapter 2 The Being awoke. For ages it had been barely conscious, noting no nearby life energies with which it could communicate. But now something was different. There were life forms. Little life forms, very small and weak, but different from before. These living things didn't devote their entire consciousness to avoiding predators. They had thoughts of hunting and of seeking food, but their hunting was not a desperate stuggle to stay alive. Their seeking of food involved merely a brief stroll to a dependable supply of foodstuffs that didn't have to stalked and killed. And they spent time focusing on - what was that? Playing? Doing things just for amusement, for extended periods? This was new. The Being had never sensed life forms with the ability to do this. It was time to communicate. The little life forms were very, very young to the perception of the Being. With ages measured in mere years, these little things were but a trifle. Yet when the Being reached out a thread of awareness, they responded. They emitted energies of curiosity, and of desire to know more. The Being began slowly, learning more about them and telling more about Itself. The little creatures found the Being to be comfortable and hospitable, not a threat. They learned to reach out with their own consciousnesses to probe more information from the Being, and in this way they learned about each other. The Being learned things new and wonderous and amazing. Being a solitary being, the Being initially knew nothing of the concept of being part of a larger unit. The Being knew nothing of play, of recreation, of comfort vs strife. The Being learned the concept of symbiosis - that a creature could depend on another creature, who would in turn depend on the first creature. These were totally alien concepts, but without prejudices or biases the Being could simply absorb the knowledge. But what was more foreign to the Being than any other thought was the feeling these small creatures derived from their symbiotic creatures. These larger creatures possessed greater energy fields than the small creatures but were too unaware to make proper use of their own energies. The Being probed these larger creatures as well, but couldn't learn a lot; their energy patterns were too scattered and unfocused. But the Being could sense easily that when the small creatures were in the presence of the big creatures, both of them emitted great volumes of energy that was of a warm, very flavorful nature. The Being relished these times, as joining in the energy of these periods provided it with it's own feelings of pleasure. Pleasure - what an interesting new concept! Chapter 3 Several months pass. Chuck gets settled in to his new job. Brenda finds a local job and finds the work and her coworkers to be enjoyable. As the calendar passes from March through April and on into the summer months, the weather grows progressively warmer. Finally, as July draws to a close the weather is it's summertime usual - temperatures in the mid 90's with humidity hovering between 80 and 90%. Neither Chuck nor Brenda are spending a lot of time outdoors as the heat persists until well after 10:00 PM. Even the cats are only spending an hour or so at a time outdoors. The air conditioner runs non-stop and makes the interior of the house fairly comfortable. The most comfortable part of the house, though, is the basement. No matter how hot the temperatures get outside, the basement stays nice and cool. A few weekends spent trapped indoors have persuaded Chuck and Brenda to spruce up the basement a little. A few fluorescent lamps, a throw rug over in a corner with decent light coming in through the windows, a couple of easy chairs, and the unfinished basement is starting to look and feel like a second family room. Chuck eases back in the recliner. "I don't know about you, but I have no problem with hibernating down here for the weekend. It's too darned hot to mow the lawn, and I like being able to cuddle with the kitties down here." As he says this he gives an extra scritch to the tummy of little Harriet, curled up in his lap. Harriet releases an extra-loud purr as she settles deeper into her catnap. "You won't get any argument from me. And you know, when you suggested moving the spare TV down here? I don't really feel a need for that. I like the peace and quiet." "Yeah, me too when I think about it. You know, something has been on my mind lately..." "Yes? Or do I have to guess what it is?" "Well, it seems to me that things have - changed since we left the west coast. No, I know the obvious stuff is different. I mean, it feels like things just seem to go better now. Like, maybe we are luckier than we used to be. Good things, random good things, just seem to happen more often. Could that just be because we're in the Midwest now, living in farm country, or could there be something more to it? "I don't know what's behind it, Chuck, but I've felt it too. I've been afraid to mention it for fear of jinxing things. But I think about it all the time, and I feel so very grateful for it. I've never been a religious person, but it sometimes make me wonder if I ought to be so I'd have somebody to thank for it. Do you know what I mean?" "I do. But you know, I don't think you really need - how do I want to say this... you don't need... I don't think we need to be able to thank anyone, I think that if we feel grateful for it, that's enough. Does that even sound sane?" "I guess it does. I can't really say why, but I guess that feels right. I guess the best thing to do is just be glad for it." Chapter 4 Monday morning again. Brenda is gone already, on her way to work. Chuck stumbles around half-conscious, trying to get ready for work. He goes through the usual routine - get out of bed, take a shower, brush his teeth and take his pills, get dressed. Head downstairs, barely managing to not fall down the stairs. Open a couple cans of gooshy food for the cats and check the kibble feeder. Scoop the litter boxes, check the water bowls, be sure the air conditioner is set and the fans are on. Track down each kitty and give each of them a pet and a snuggle. Stand at the back door and shout to all the house "Ok, everybody, I'm off to work. Everybody, every single one of you, be happy, healthy, safe and comfy. All of you beautiful kitties, and beautful mama - heck every beautiful critter that lives in this house - all of you be happy, healthy, safe, and comfy". Thinking warm, loving thoughts towards the whole group of living things in the household, Chuck hefts his briefcase and makes his way to the garage. A few feet away, the Being felt the energy being radiated by the two-legged creature and the emotional content it contained, as well as the energy that came from the four-legged creatures in return. Having been exposed to the concept of "love" by tasting the energies of the cats and their humans, it recognized the radiated energy as being positive and good. Having picked up on the idea of returning positive energies to those from whom you receive it, the Being directed it's own stream of positive energies towards the two-legged animal. Not having a physical form meant that the Being tasted the "love" energies differently than did the two-legged and the four-legged creatures, but it did the best it could. The stream of energy it directed towards the two-legged thing tasted like "Experience the things that bring you joy". Earlier in the morning it and the cats had gone through the same routine with Brenda when she left the house. Who would have guessed that the Being's "Experience the things that bring you joy" would translate to increased luck? |