The Zen of Maya

Maya in buddhism means “illusion” and is centered on the fact that we do not experience the environment itself but rather a projection of it, created by us. My “reality” on Sunday night at 9pm was that I was sitting in the animal hospital hoping my Maya would be okay. While getting ready for bed I noticed Maya playing with something and discovered she had found and Advil that had fallen on the floor. A part of the Advil was missing so I had no idea how much she may have ingested. I called the poison control hotline and they said Advil was toxic to cats and so I better get her to the emergency room. So, for 3 hours I sat and waited while they ingested Maya with medicine to make her vomit, gave her charcoal stuff to help absorb any poison and gave her some fluids. They sent us home with more charcoal and two different medications. The goal of the medication is to try to hopefully prevent any ulcers from forming and prevent kidney failure.

Yesterday, I stayed home with Maya. Neither of us slept that night so we were both tired and I just wanted to keep an eye on her. Of course, I was more of an emotional mess than Maya. While I was worrying about what could happen if the medicine didn’t work or feeling guilty about having dropped the Advil, she was handling things as they came with patience and grace. When I felt bad about having to give her the medicine, she put up a little fight, but took it and trusted me that I was doing what was best. I could learn a lot from Maya. For one, having more trust, faith and being open to the moment, instead of falling into thinking about what could have been or might be. Instead, I should be present to the moment and what is happening in the now. This morning, Maya crawled into bed to have her belly rubbed, took her medicine, ate, played, rested, hung out in the tub (watching the water drip) and played some more. For each of these activities she was consumed in the moment and not worried about what comes next. So, for now, I am trying to remember that my “reality” is an illusion I’ve projected and not to project it onto her. I may have adopted Maya to give her a good home but I think she was brought into my life to help teach me the power of Zen.