I've long been interested in the 'transmigration of souls' concept, where it is thought that the soul can pass from one body to another - either human, animal, or perhaps to an inanimate object.
I think my cat Little Boy, who passed away some weeks back, has transmigrated into one of these bloody blackbirds that have plagued me all summer so far.
I wrote about these winged friends in an earlier blog. They had a particularly productive spring, reproducing themselves at an impressive rate, so now there are several hopping and skittering about in my yard, pooping all over the deck, trying to get into the house ...
There is one in particular that makes me believe in this migration of souls business.
It's uncanny, because she behaves very similarly to Little Boy.
One of the things LB used to do was to welcome me home after I'd been out. No matter what time of day, he'd hear me coming up the stairs, meow a greeting, and appear on the deck to say hello.
This little blackbird doesn't meow, but as soon as I get home (within the hours of daylight), it bounces up from the grass and sits on the doormat outside the door. If the door is open, it comes in and sits on the mat, looking at me. Fortunately it comes no further.
Of course I always assume they want to be my friend simply for food, but last evening, I placed some pieces of bread out there to see if this was correct. The bird looked at the bread, ignored it, and hopped towards me to stand about two feet away, just looking up at me.
Every morning when I appear at the door, the blackbird is out there, on the mat, waiting. At this time of day, it's all about food, but as the day unfolds, she is often around, and will hop up onto the deck if I'm sitting there, and we hang out. Just like the cat used to do.
We can see the character of our loved ones who have passed on in other living things: birds, animals, clouds, trees. A friend of mine is positive that her Auntie Ivy resides in one of her cats and maybe Little Boy has migrated into the blackbird.
I reckon it's all connected, in one big universal, collective, soulful, organic and heavenly mix that surrounds us every day.
One interprets that as one pleases.