Today

 Today Tyler sold our Murano. When he asked me last night what I thought about selling it, I truthfully said that I was pretty neutral about the decision. We have not been using it much. Yet today, the sale has left me thinking that this is more of a passage than I first realized. The main reason we do not use it much anymore is that our dog Jack is not healthy enough to travel. We have decided that once Jack passes, we are not going to have a dog for a while. We are going to travel a little more lightly.  

The Murano was loved not only by Jack, but by our other two dogs as well, both who have long since passed. Except when driven once a year to Costco, it was usually the vehicle that symbolized fun, whether we were going to the beach or on a longer trek. We will travel again, but the Murano had simply become just a little too big for our needs.  

 

After the transaction was complete and the Murano was on its way, we sat in the backyard and had lunch.  I told Tyler, "We have just downsized!'  We have more downsizing to do, of course, but yes, this is a time of change. The exterior of the house has recently been painted, and Tyler has been working diligently on a backyard project of taking out the hot tub and creating a nice seating area in its place.  A very pleasant young woman who has recently started her own landscaping business is going to help create a dry landscape for the front yard that does not include dead grass. I am grateful.    

In an anthology of prayers entitled God Makes the Rivers To Flow, Eknath Easwaran included a beautiful Native American Indian prayer, Great Life-Giving Spirit. The entire prayer is too long to include here, but I shall conclude with part of it. I love the image of fading into beautiful color. This is an image worth keeping as the journey continues.     

    

  

Spirit who comes out of the East, 

come to me with the power of the rising sun. 

Let there be light in my word. 

Let there be light on the path that I walk. 

Let me remember always that you give the gift of a new day. 

Never let me be burdened with sorrow by not starting over....

Great life-giving Spirit, 

I face the West, 

the direction of the sundown. 

Let me remember every day that the moment will come 

when my sun will go down.  

Never let me forget that I must fade into you.  

Give me beautiful color. 

Give me a great sky for setting, 

and when it is time to meet you, 

I come with glory.   

      

image: San Leandro, August 2022