W. Lee Nichols

Talking With Cats started writing itself in 2012 when I returned from a three month pilgrimage on Spain's Camino de Santiago. The journey was truly transformational in almost mythical terms. I left the states in May after surgery for stage-four prostate cancer. Needless to say, at age 71, I was discouraged and entered the journey as though it were to be my last. Walking 500 miles alone is a great opportunity to discover one's weaknesses and strengths. I discovered that I had to surrender, to find forgiveness, to let go of suffering and to learn acceptance of who I really was. That part took three weeks.

I then began the search for an authentic self which started with gratitude and finding joy in the moment. As I learned to trust and surrender to the path it began to teach me the noble and selfless way to compassion and an egoless wonder in all life. Events, people, places and accommodations manifested to take me on a magic carpet that I called flow. That flow continues to lift me daily as I live every day in the garden of happiness and abundance. I am now cancer free and taking creative writing classes to become better at crafting the words to tell my next adventure. If my humble tale of self-discovery and awakening has meaning for any of my readers, then my journey is rewarded, grateful and honored to have shared it's lessons learned on the path to enlightenment.