Evening Walk

The sky is showing a bit of blue today;  and the temperature has slightly risen to 59 degrees fahrenheit.  The month of May is about finished and a lot is on the horizon.  But for now, peaceful and quiet.  Today is Wednesday.

The beauty of being in southern California is that there is access to so much variety.  Variety of landscapes, cultures, food (and good quality!), and opportunities for sinking into all of it.

Last night, spending a few hours walking near the coast was beautiful.  The skies opened a bit, a breeze was in the air, and a lot of people were simply enjoying the chance to gather - some with friends and others, just doing the people watching that can be so fascinating in a place like Venice.  There were not many people over 35, it seemed.  So the feeling of walking in the evening felt like a match to where I am these days - at the evening part of my life.  And, it felt good.

Today's gift is the realization that in a single day, so much can be revealed about what matters in life.  An evening walk is a portal into the past and the future because it holds all there is in carrying on through life's adventures.  In the past week, to experience another part of the continent, to have intense discussions about what to do as our bodies give way to the inevitable, to celebrate milestones in the lives of a new generation - all of it comes together again in a nice, quiet walk as the sun begins to set.

Along with the activities, is noticing the body and how it is also moving through so much, all the time.  This comes through in the energy shift into a slower pace;  it come through in the legs that begin to feel the weight of having been used well in a lifetime; and it comes through in the flood of memories about how blessed and cursed life can be.  These things all matter deeply in carving out the contours of one's experiences of events, people,a nd places.

The evening walk is yet another gift.  It is always there, offering day after day a chance to be in a different space/time.  In the world of physics, they say that eternity is in the now.  The reminder that this is so true comes through when one takes the time (conditions permitting) to accept the invitation extended by the universe day, after day - to experience something of what it means to come to closure in a life cycle.  If it sounds too improbable, then it is time to try a walk as the sun gives way to the night.  And if one is lucky, the receding will bring with it a beautiful moon - the signal that the evening walk is complete.