In the Light
I am usually awake before dawn. Letting the pack out to do their business means for us that the big hairless girl goes out first. Bohdi makes a quick sweep around the yard … Barking, if warranted, to chase any trespassing critters or coyotes. The little dogs have come to take their queue from her surveillance. Likewise, Bo has been instructed if not also reminded on some mornings, that she must wait watching from the flagstone or the grassy knoll until the small dogs are finished and are both safely inside the house.
Our yard is on a hillside of sorts. With grand if not OLD growth trees, certainly looming overgrown Ash. It makes the back yard a particularly dark and eerie place in the twilight hours. As the sun begins to spill in over the tops of the Eastern trees it does so slowly in small slices of light. Bo knows where to find the best place to capture the early morning rays. She takes a noble stand up the railroad tie steps near our bedroom door. There are a few large rocks there that are perfect for sitting and a wonderful place to watch the yard slowly fill with 🌞.
Maybe it’s her hairlessness more than her nature, that draws her to the sun salutation. Each of us in our own way have a practice that brings us to our happy place. Some call it a silver lining, lemonade, half full glasses or 🌈 and 🌹… We try and find a little bit of comfort .. where we stand.
Of course .. there’s another pull, perhaps from the egoic mind, that wants to focus on the gopher hole instead of the blue sky. No matter what the forecast, we clutch our ☂️ and see only the doom and gloom that looms around us. Heck sometimes we have to close our eyes and create the nightmare in our mind, adding more fuel to the 🔥 and watching it burn as we validate our own fear mongering mental meanderings.
It’s exhausting to create and sustain the circling down the drain vortex of vile thoughts. Same though if we feel we have to run to catch the brass ring. Both the immediate need to seek or avoid puts us on the hamster wheel of samsara. But if we can find equanimity where we stand, however we land that we touch Grace in the palm of our hand we can allow all that is below and above filling our heart with love until the alone is all one.
At least in theory, ye? We mostly just bide our time, waiting for the next thing on our infinite list of items that will get our divided attention before we run around the maze not knowing the cheese is already in our pocket. Until in a breath we catch the glimpse from the side of our eye and at once we remember that which we are when the darkness fades and we find our Self standing in the light.
