A dear friend sent me an email this past week with the following story.

The Law of the Wild says kill only when you are hungry!

Photographer Michel Denis-Huot, who captured these amazing pictures on safari in Kenya’s Masai Mara in October last year, said he was astounded by what he saw:

“These three brothers (cheetahs) have been living together since they left their mother at about 18 months old. On the morning we saw them, they seemed not to be hungry, walking quickly, but stopping sometimes to play together. At one point, they met a group of impala who ran away. But one youngster was not quick enough and the brothers caught it easily.

“These extraordinary scenes followed:

And then they just walked away without hurting him.”

Once again, nature teaches what civilized humans espouse, but far too often do not practice. Thank you, Michel Denis-Huot, for these amazing photos –testimony that not all is going badly on our beautiful planet.

As a tribute to these three honorable cousins of my gentle feline CiCi and her peaceful Garden, I offer this acronym: CATS

If we all followed the CATS principle . . .

Chase if you want, Apprehend if you like, Taste victory if you must, and then Set free!

. . . our collective lives could be astonishingly magnificent!

Bodhichitta (which I playfully pronounce “boda cheetah”) is a Sanskrit word meaning “awakened heart/mind” –or simply “noble heart”. As I strive to live with an awakened heart, cheetahs remain my most favorite wild animal.