Instinct-That little voice inside to which we should listen

Kittens were born at our house on the Fourth of July. Well, not at the house, but in our boat of all places. The momma cat, whose name is Chicken because the nieces and nephews all under the age of seven decided so, is a young mother who has known exactly how to take care of everything. It's just instinct; a part of nature and nurture. Its amazing to watch in action. Chicken chose the boat, I'm sure, because it was protected from the sun, comfortable in the carpet and the ground predators wouldn't find them. We needed the boat so we moved them and she tried to take them back until we all settled on a good place. She cleans them every day and feeds them and this morning brought them a dead mouse- I'm not really sure what that was all about - but I'm sure it was something important to her. She is the proud mother of four; two with bobbed tails like hereself and the other two have long tails. I think Chicken is some kind of Bobcat or Lynx mix and the daddy, our neighbors cat, is a black and grey tabby. Being born of the 4Th, I couldn't resist to name them Yankee, Doodle, Dandy and Sam and they are all as cute as their names. They already have homes and we couldn't be prouder and happier.
It was while watching Chicken take care of her little ones that I realized we all have that innate nature within us but we many times just don't listen to our inner being or soul. Over and over again in my life I've caught myself saying, "I knew I shouldn't have done that," yet I did it and it went wrong. I truly believe in the mind, body and soul connection and if we would take time to listen to all three, we would be better people.
I've had a weight problem for years. I keep telling myself its just because I finally gave up cigarettes and needed to replace them with something. Well, what an excuse. I gave up the smokes over 14 years ago and I'm still using them as my excuse for stuffing myself with everything I shouldn't. The key word here is stuffing. I've been reading everything I can about diet these days and what these large amount of sugars and fried foods do to us. I realize its not the sugars or even the type of food, they've been around since Eve ate the apple, but simply how much we inhale. Our bodies tell us when we are full, but we ignore the signals and keep shoving it in. It doesn't matter what we eat if we only eat a few bites. The best advise I've read and I will pass on is....don't eat if you're not hungry. It's simple. Our mind and body tell us when we are full and when we are hungry if we listen. Chicken cat knows when to feed her babies and clean them and protect them just as we know how to take care of ourselves if we listen. We can instinctively take care of all our needs if we take a moment each day and get quiet and really listen to ourselves. Many call it prayer, some call it meditation and others don't have to give it names..its just instinct. Stop and listen. Make time not excuses.