Six Cats and a Cup of Coffee

I have recently reintroduced myself to my art. It's importance in this balancing act of daily life has become so blatant in recent weeks. So for about the last two weeks I have been doing nothing but art. I love it.
And, of course, my maine muse is coffee, or maybe it is a catalyst. Definitely a major factor in the creative process.
I've decided to take a year off from the career-driven life and my previous obsession with success. This year my only goal is to live richly, not in monetary terms, but with in my own skin. To enjoy living every day, hour, minute, every second: to be present now.
It is interesting to look at the world around me and see how we disconnect ourselves. At a coffee shop in the city lap tops are every where, a man is in the corner on a cell phone, but there are so many others that are at the coffee shop to meet with friends. That a sense of community, of communal grounds and meeting-people-space is so important to me, now. But then here I am with my coffee, writing a post and disconnecting from my present environment in order to attempt some type of virtual connection on the internet, yes?
So, also this year is a time to discover and rediscover exactly what makes me happy. We all deserve to be happy, hell its in the constitution. Or, I take that back. It is the pursuit of happiness, not actual happiness. Perhaps this reflects on our culture as a constantly unhappy and searching people: why can't our government guaruntee happiness? Our constitution implies that it must be pursued, an active description, but why not obtained? There are a million little coffee table books and spiritual guides to happiness, that I have pursued in search of happiness. But, more and more I think happiness is not an act to be pursued: it is a state of mind. Not active, but simply present.
The importance of animals in my life has also reasserted a definite necessity. Cats, especially. There is something inherently artistic and childlike about the cats that I live with. There are six cats, which all have their individual personality, history and a social community: Sylvia, Tommy, Delphine, Phoebe, Frida, Liliana. They all love sitting outside with me in the mornings while I weed the little patch of brilliantly bright grass and water. Hiding behind the tufts of grass and pouncing on each other or climbing trees or rolling in the dust, they really love being cats: what else is there? These six cats have also illustrated the importance of a nap in the afternoon, the great feeling of curling up with someone on the couch and the delights of touch and affection.