I am the Lucky Cat

I like sushi. And most Japanese sushi bars I visit have a ceramic lucky cat on its counter. It is the “Maneki Neko”, raising one or both paws, welcoming customers, attracting business. You can read more about Maneki Neko in Wikipedia.

I bought myself a tiny porcelain lucky cat not long ago to sit above my computer. And as I was admiring it, I got to thinking, why just own a lucky cat? Why not BE a lucky cat?!

So I designed a little paper doll cat. And I put my own face on it. That was so much fun, I made a couple of feline friends. And now we are all sitting above the computer with the original little porcelain one.

In the days since I created this self-portrait of myself as the lucky cat, I have caught myself reflecting on the fortunate life I lead. It brings a smile to my face. I am lucky. It is true. And I believe the more I regard myself as being lucky, the more luck I will attract.

I invite you to turn yourself into a lucky cat, too. I’ve made a little pdf template and project sheet to make it easy for you. Click to open the Maneki Neko pdf template in a new window. You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. When it is open in a new browser window, you can save it or print it.

(This post relates to Maneki Neko by Stacey Apeitos, art doll #8, February 2008.)