Purrs 4 Peace Week 19: Announcement - Healing bodies, healing the world

I am having great difficulty writing this post through my tears after learning this morning two gentle feline friends passed over the rainbow bridge: Buzz Edens and Kitty ACat. Buzz (photo on the right) and his family have been regular purrticipants in the purrs4peace project. The purrs coming from their home in Texas have been bountiful, strong and profound. I understand that Buzz’s passing was very sudden from lung cancer. The purrs will miss this valuable participant. Kitty’s passing was after long illness, but in no way did that lessen the blow of the loss to her family I’m certain. Buzz and Kitty, both beautiful little souls, have been lost too soon to this world.

Last week another good friend of this project, Kant De Boisleduc suggested that we purr for our human and animal friends who are ill and for the scientists who search for cures to disease. With the passing of our two dear friends Buzz and Kitty, it seems fitting that we purr for HEALTH in their honor. Let us also purr to comfort the families of Buzz, Kitty and all our friends who have passed. Our friends over the Rainbow Bridge are without pain and at play with one another, but the families left here miss them and grieve.

"The first wealth is health."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

With respect to Emerson, let me say that Health is also Peace.

So much of our own PERSONAL peace is rooted in the health of our bodies, and also in the health of our friends and loved ones. If we feel ill, our ability to carry out the actions we want to take to make our world, and the world at large, a better place can be difficult…even impossible. And when our friends or family members are ill, particularly when that illness is chronic, any feelings of tranquility are replaced with worry and sadness.

He who has health has hope; and he who has hope has everything.
~Arabic Proverb

I believe that all is connected, the so-called butterfly effect: the theory that the flapping wings of one butterfly could eventually have a far-reaching ripple effect on weather events on the other side of the world. In the same way, I believe our health and the health of our friends and family members can affect the health and well being - and ultimately Peace - of our world. Moreover, each of us, like the butterfly, through our purrs, can affect the world.
Therefore, this week we purr for the healing of our friends. We purr for the healing inside ourselves. We purr for the healing of our world. We purr for peace.

Week 19 of Purrs 4 Peace details are as follows:
Week nineteen’s appointed time is Sunday, October 18, 2009.
Participants should purr for three minutes commencing at 12 p.m. EDT (U.S.) which is 5:00 p.m. (17:00 hrs.) BST in the U.K.
The cat’s human staff should assist their cats with the project by stroking and nuzzling the cat at the appointed time.
Please post your cat name and the country you purr in at www.confuciuscat.blogspot.com as a COMMENT if you are participating in this historic project. (posting a link to your own website-if you have one-is encouraged.) Or let me know by message on twitter or facebook.
Posting purrs on facebook (Acolytes of Confucius Cat or as friend to Alley Mason) and twitter (@ConfuciusCat) is encouraged, since it inspires purring in others, but not required. On twitter please use #purrs4peace in your tweets.