Can One Wrong Make Two Rights?

“When a door closes, two windows open.” ~ Author unknown


Yesterday morning I received a phone call from the owner of the cat that was repossessed by the shelter. After finding out that the agency reserves ownership of the animal, and that the adopting families are merely “foster parents”, they are afraid to run into the same type of heartbreak again at a later time, so they prefer to give up and go elsewhere to adopt.


When I first hung up the phone I was quite irritated. What incentive do people have to adopt animals from rescues if they have to live in fear of seeing their beloved pet being taken away after years of lovingly taking care of it, especially when one can just adopt a pet for free from the newspaper with no strings attached? Who would be willing to pay an adoption fee, be solely responsible for the cost of food and medical care, and at the same time have no rights regarding ownership of the animal? Homes taking in foster children receive financial assistance for providing a safe environment; once they adopt the child the financial incentives stop, but the child is legally theirs.


After the initial irritation, however, I saw the silver lining. The family is now going to adopt two animals from a kill shelter, and thus save two lives. As sad as this episode was for the little girl and her cat, it will have a happy ending for two other cats who might, otherwise, not find another home.


I guess we all could focus on the injustice that took place, but it is certainly more constructive to direct our energy toward the good that will come out of it. It is all too common to notice the darkness of the cloud and ignore its silver lining.


Anything that happens is set in motion by opposing forces, and if we can look at the situation objectively, we can’t find a dynamic negative without its positive twin trailing behind. Painful events often lead to something good and promote a greater awareness.


My heart still breaks for the cat whose world was suddenly turned upside down and felt abandoned by the family he had come to love, all because of a contractual travesty, but deep down I rejoice for the two cats who are now living on borrowed time and will soon discover the joys of snuggling beside a warm fire on a cold winter night.

United Beyond the Divide

“Synchronicity hints at the unified world behind the illusory veil of the material Universe.” ~ Roger S. Jones


As I was driving home, on Sunday evening, I suddenly thought of an old friend my husband met when both were in the army in Italy. We normally heard from him every year or so, but we had somehow lost touch for some time and could not find a phone listing for him.

Nothing that happened that day led me to think of this guy, yet his face just popped into my mind, seemingly out of nowhere. I told my husband as soon as I got home, and we looked up his name again to no avail.

Two days went by. On Tuesday evening, my husband came home from work and said that he was very surprised when his brother told him that someone had called for him at his house two nights before. The friend, my brother-in-law said, had explained that his was the only listing he could find under the last name, so he called even if the first name was different, hoping to locate my husband. The friend who called was Jason, the man whose face had popped into my mind on Sunday, at the exact time that he was placing the call.

My husband was more surprised than I was. “How odd,” he said, “we were just discussing the fact that we hadn’t heard from him in years and he called the same night.”

I didn’t think it was odd at all. Although each of us is equipped with a unique conscious mind which sets us apart from the next person, the collective mind of our subconscious – the one connected to Universal energy - connects us all.

In the first insight of his amazing book, “The Celestine Prophecy”, James Redfield explains that mysterious coincidences cause the reconsideration of the inherent mystery that surrounds our individual lives on this planet.

What we do to and for others, we unknowingly do to and for ourselves. This simple knowledge allows us to understand a bit of the laws of karma. As we send positive or negative energy to others, part of it is absorbed by the conscious, individual mind of the person we are sending it to, and part of it is absorbed by the collective mind, the one shared by all including ourselves.

Subconsciously, we are all aware of the common denominator we all share, and that knowledge is part of what stops us, when we don’t feel good about ourselves, from being kind to others. We know that if we smile at a stranger we are partially smiling at ourselves, and we might not be ready to accept that kind of reward.

All are one and one is all – no matter how hard we try to set one another apart by listening to the voice of fear, our collective link runs beneath the illusion of the human divide.

Boundaries of Our Freedom (repost)

“Your freedom stops where other people’s freedom starts”. ~Don D. Battaglini


This simple sentence stuck with me like glue since the first time I heard it, back when I was seven years old, during Bible study. I don’t think Don Battaglini ever realized the impact his words had on his young pupils, but I can still remember that moment as if it took place yesterday.

Don Battaglini was one of those priests who don’t come by very often. I remember him as always being old; hair as white as snow, deep-set, soft brown eyes, and the strong voice of a tenor. He never indulged nonsense, but he was ALWAYS available for important issues. The day he uttered those words was one of those winter days that never seem to draw to an end. It was raining out, and I can still recall the sound of the rain drops rhythmically hitting the window pane. It was one of those days that truly deserve the label of “boring”.

Then, I heard those words and they changed my young life. From that moment on, every time I thought about doing anything, I always wondered if I was intruding in someone else’s freedom, and more times than one those very same words saved me from overstepping my boundaries.

We are free to make choices, but so are other people. We have the right to voice our opinion, but we must acknowledge that other people have opinions, too. We may choose a certain type of lifestyle, but we must mind the fact that, although we are free to decide how we live, we must allow others the space they need to live out their own choices.

So, where is the fine line between our freedom and that of others?

Ultimately, the best rule to follow is the old golden one: “Don’t do unto others as you wouldn’t want done unto you”. And again, it is about walking a mile into someone else’s shoes.

We have the right to have a party with our friends, but we would not like for someone else to wake us up from a sound sleep; maybe, we can try to keep things down a bit, or at least let our neighbors know of our plans. Most people, if warned ahead, will be amenable to accommodating different things. If we love to drink, then we shouldn’t drive or be obnoxious. Although we have the right to enjoy a drink, people have the freedom to live out their life. If we are fervidly religious, we should be thankful that God is so prominent in our lives, yet we should not push our beliefs unto others who have the freedom to not believe, or believe something else.

We are here all together, all participants in the great field trip on earth that life is. We can make our journey a little more pleasant by just showing a little respect; both toward ourselves and others. Maybe then, we will learn to fight a little less, love a little more, and really be free.