Your Light Forever Burns Bright

Those tender words we said to one another

Are stored in the secret heart of heaven.

One day, like the rain, they will fall and spread

And their mystery will grow green over the world.

---Rumi

And so it was with me & Suzy.  We spoke to each other through our eyes, thoughts, walks, touch and, most of all, our hearts.  We knew what the other was thinking at all times.  Wherever I was, Suzy was not far behind.  She watched over me like the guardian angel she was.  Even at the very end, as I backed out of the exam room at the vet's, she stared at me as if to say, "Farewell Old Friend." 

Farewell.  I will always love you and hold you in my highest esteem.  For you gave me more than words can express.  You were my guiding light, my highest honor, my deepest love and my truest friend.  For 14 wonderful years.

Through our bond, may our blog reach others who love their pets and give comfort and reassurance in times of loss or grief.  For the bond you had with your darling will remain forever in your life.  Love is strong and will sustain you when times are tough or the going gets rough.  Just remember when your pet was by your side and how your bond of love FELT.  It's still there.  It's light burns bright.

Autumn's Not the Same Without You

When I took this picture, three years ago, you were by my side.  Together we romped through colorful leaves that rustled with every step, skip and jump.  And, oh, how you loved running through piles of leaves!

A magical time.  Not far from home.  This tree stood so stately, so regal and tall.  Stretching it's canopy over a carpet of gold.  You chased a squirrel up its trunk, I remember, and barked joyfully after it in hot pursuit.  But the squirrel was faster and scampered up to the first level of branches, peered down and chuck-chuck-chuckled back at you in delight.  Ah, those were the days.

Today I ran some errands, walked around the block and giggled to myself as I watched three of my cats playing on the roof.  Autumn isn't the same without you, Suzy.  Never will be, I suspect.  But our memories are vivid and the times we spent walking through the glow of each season will forever remain in my heart. As will you. My sweet Sue.

Sunshine on My Shoulder

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread. 
Places to play in and pray in.
    ----John Muir

PBS recently aired a wonderful 12 hour special on the national parks produced and directed by Ken Burns.  I watched all 12 episodes and reveled in the majesty and beauty of our magnificent national parks.  Burns started the series with the discovery of the first park, Yosemite, back in the mid-1800's.  He quoted John Muir, one of the early pioneers and ended the whole documentary with these precious words.  I agree. 

Life is like a river.  It starts out slowly, meandering hither and yon.  Past canyons and ravines, mountains & streams. Until mid-life.  Then it picks up.  Sometimes flowing over rocks and crevices.  Gathering momentum under bridges and around rocks.  Until we meet old age.  Then it becomes a raging rapids.  Glowing, flowing fast, splashing, running over waterfalls and spilling over into memories of quieter passageways.

But it keeps on going.  In our national parks and across our lives.  The rivers wait for no one.  Enjoy what you can each and every day you have the good fortune to be a part of the flow of life. 
The river carries us forward never back.  Keeps moving with the force of life, in storms and sunshine, rapids and rainbows.  All is precious.
How will the river of life carry you?

Onward Through the Fog

A friend of mine always signs his letters with this last thought.  Onward through the fog.  What does it mean?  That life is so muddy, fuzzy, distorted, that we all have to trapse on, trudging through the sludge?  Not a very pretty picture, is it?

After Suzy died, though, I kind of feel like this.  Inch-by-inch, swimming against the current, feeling my way blindfolded.  And, it's hard.  Can't just pull myself up by my boot straps when I have no boots! Can you?  Should you?  Should I?

How DO we cope when the chips are down?  When we can't see the forest through the trees of our tears?  When there is no sunshine to light the way?  How do others cope with sadness, grief and adversity?  I'd like to know.  If you have any tips, send them my way.

Some pick-me-up-ers for me include:  my kits, nature, animals of any kind, beauty, trees, flowers, kind-hearted people, honesty, authenticity, closeness with friends or pets, sunsets, winding roads,Vermont, Switzerland and anyplace pretty, inviting and life-affirming.  For a start.

Sun Day

Today is Sunday and a sunny day.  Autumn at her finest.  A gentle breeze.  Smells of fireplaces burning in the distance.  And cider.  Mmm. .    sweet, flavorful cider in the country. 

So many sights and smells, sounds and feelings accompany autumn days in Michigan.  The changing of the seasons give reasons for rejoicing that we are alive.  To be of service to others.  To care for our children and elderly parents.  To protect and be companions to our beloved pets.  To be who we truly are.  Each and every day.  In every way.  There are reasons for seasons, and authenticity, gratitude and kindness are among the chief ones.

Suzy, my love, I miss you dearly.  Sincerely.  Today we'd be going for a long walk.  Along the river, over a bridge and down by the old mill stream.  You'd frolic over hill and dale with me chuggin' on to keep up. You led the way to fun and freedom.  Your boundless spirit igniting my hopes and dreams for a better tomorrow.  You were the wick in my candle, the flame in my darkness, the light of my life.

You were my autumn, winter, spring and summer.  For, in all seasons you were all the reasons I needed to be me, happy and free.  And, I thank thee!

Unconditional Love

In a book I'm currently reading, entitled, A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life, by Parker Palmer, he says, "The people who help us grow toward true self offer unconditional love, neither judging us to be deficient nor trying to force us to change but accepting us exactly as we are.  And yet this unconditional love does not lead us to rest on our laurels.  Instead, it surrounds us with a charged force field that makes us want to grow from the inside out--a force field that is safe enough to take the risks and endure the failures that growth requires."  P. 60.

So it was with Suzy.  No matter if I was up and happy or down and sad, Suzy always made me feel glad we were together, and nothing much mattered after that.  By providing such acceptance and love, she always made me feel glad to be alive.  She exuded such joy that my heart sang any time I was around her.  Some people have that effect on others, too.  Have you ever noticed?  It takes a special person (and a special pet) to radiate that kind of warmth and kindness.  Truly, from the heart and a rarity at that.

The poet, Rainer Maria RIlke wrote of "the love that consists in this, that two solitudes protect and border and salute each other."  P. 62  In other words, each person respects and trusts the other in conversation and in solitude.  Without trying to judge, fix or criticize the other.  Let them be.  As they are.  Who they are.  Suzy did this for me and I for her.  We respected each other totally and completely and were free to be who we truly were.  For this I thank her most appreciatively.

She taught me more about life than any book, teacher, speaker or guru.  She taught me about the most precious quality of all:  how to love and be loved. 

Truth

Deep in our hearts we all know the truth.  Our own truths. It matters not what others say or think.  For the beating to the rhythm of our own hearts will always tell us the true story.  They cannot be ignored.

Suzy and I shared a truth unlike any other.  We both knew and felt the abundant love that was ours and ours alone. Like lovers, we felt a connection unlike any other.  It was bold and strong.  Lasting and long. For 14 years, every moment of every day.  We shared a love that fulfilled us in every way.  In good times and bad, in sickness and in health, we had it all because we had love-wealth.

YOU
ARE
MY
SUNSHINE.
MY ONLY
SUNSHINE.
YOU
MAKE
ME
HAPPY
WHEN
SKIES
ARE
BLUE.
YOU'LL NEVER
KNOW DEAR
HOW MUCH
I LOVE YOU.
PLEASE DON'T
TAKE MY
SUNSHINE
AWAY. . . .