"Where Cats Meditate"

That's the title of a wonderful little book about cats, compiled by David Baird. Filled with great photographs of cats and kittens, each photo matched with the perfect words, sayings, thoughts.

Just a sampling of the pages:

"To be able to listen to the silence is to be able to hear the infinite." (words by Anne Wilson Schaef). The photo shows an orange/white fluffy cat sitting on a fence post and staring up into the mountains.

"Nothing can bring you peace but yourself." (Ralph Waldo Emerson). The photo is of a calico kitten perched on a wagon wheel on a tiny street in Greece.

"Those in a hurry do not arrive." (a Zen saying). The photo is a striped tabby cat just sitting on a wooden fence.

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." (by Marcel Proust). This photo is a black/white cat sitting on concrete steps overlooking the Mediterranean.

"The quieter you become, the more you can hear." (by Baba Ram Dass). Wonderful photo of a tiny wide-eyed calico kitten trying to hide behind short leaves of grass.

"We must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose." (by Indira Gandhi). This photo shows a striped tabby resting behind a tree in a sunny patch of grass.

"Be vigilant; guard your mind against negative thoughts." (Buddha). Amazing photo of a black/white cat staring at a goldfish in a tank, while the goldfish stares right back at the cat.

"Nature has given us two ears, two eyes, and but one tongue-- to the end that we should hear and see more than we speak." (Socrates). Photograph of an orange cat thoughtfully studying its surroundings.

"Without stirring abroad, one can know the whole world; without looking out of the window, one can see the way of heaven. The further one goes, the less one knows." (Lao-Tzu). This page has a photograph of a striped cat peeking out of a paper bag.

Needless to say, this is a beautiful little book of not just cats and kittens, but words that make you take a deep breath and think. Just think. Anyone who loves cats will love this book. I'd guess that a non-cat person just wouldn't "get it."

Maybe that's the magic of cats... they make you take a deep breath and just think.