This is a photo of our family dog, Darling, who passed away two years ago. She lived up to her name as she was a darling girl. I wish that I had a photo of my friend, the white dog. Maybe we will meet again.
This morning I received a phone call from a friend in Colorado to say that there was to be something unusual in the sky over California at noon. Hmmm…sky was completely overcast but I decided to check it out. First I went to the grocery store and then the produce market. Manning the checkout, was a Norwegian man who I have visited with before. It is so nice to encounter friendly folks on your errands. I was happy that his was the line that I had chosen. He was talking about his 103 year old grandmother who is at present on a trip to Spain with his sister. She is traveling about and enjoying her life at her advanced age. He told me how difficult it was in Norway after the war; there was very little food and many were hungry. His father had caught a large salmon for which the children were in a high state of excitement. It represented food for a number of meals. His father cleaned the fish and to his dismay, his grandmother told him and his siblings to take the fish to a neighbor’s house. Members of that family were ill and had need of food. He had said to his grandmother, “We cannot afford to give this fish away.” She replied, ” We cannot afford to not give it.” This man recalled the lesson that his grandmother had given him with so few words. He later heard folks talking about the gift of the fish when his grandmother was present, but she never uttered a word that she was the one who had gifted it. He recalled that they had opened the outer door and left the fish anonymously in the space between the outer and inner doors to the house. He considers his grandmother to be his spiritual teacher.
What an amazing story. I know that my ego wants that recognition and it takes a conscious act of will to not follow its lead. I have failed at this many times. It is another level of understanding to do good without thought of recognition or reward.
By now noon was approaching so I needed to get out of the streets where I was hemmed in by tall buildings. As time was short, I drove rather than walked up to the Twin Peaks above the city. Everything was shrouded in mist, that grew denser the higher Maxie (my car) and I climbed. I parked and began to walk up the path to the top of the first peak. On a clear day, it affords a spectacular view of San Francisco. Today, there was not much to see as the mist surrounded me. In contrast, the grasses and flowers were so vivid. Their colors seemed almost surreal to me. I scanned the sky but no extraordinary sight appeared. Yet, I was gifted with being at this beautiful spot which gave me the knowledge of another place to go to in the city in order to connect with nature. I walked along, enjoying the mist and the colors, feeling like I was in Ireland or even walking in a place between worlds. I felt blessed. I came upon a railing marking the trail that I decided to pause at and use for a bench. I closed my eyes and sat down for a moment. I heard a shout, “dog and runner” and looked up to see a young man running with his dog. The man ran by but the dog stopped for a moment before continuing on when his master called to him. I watched them disappear before closing my eyes and beginning to tone the energies that I felt. I was in my own little world, connecting to Gaia. When I opened my eyes, the dog was back, standing a couple feet away, staring at me. He was a beautiful white dog with pointy ears and a tail that curled up. He had on a bright red collar and some kind of harness around his chest. He stood perfectly still and we exchanged an entire conversation with our eyes. He “saw” me and I saw him. He then approached and jumped up to put his paws on my shoulders. Now if you know me, you would know that I am neutral about animals. I have no real dislike yet no real liking either. We had a family dog and I loved her as she was a part of the family, but in general I do not go all ooing and ahhing about an animal. I appreciate them but do not love them in the way that so many do. So, a strange dog jumping on me would cause me to back up a bit. In fact, more than a bit. Yet I felt so comfortable. He had his paws on my shoulders and proceeded to rub his face along mine. It was so intimate and loving. Down he got and trotted off, following the trail to join his master. I was left sitting there marveling at what had just occurred. It felt like a blessing. I felt visited by a dear friend who knew me intimately. I believe that this is part of the new earth where our connections to animals, plants. rocks, trees, the waters…everything is growing.
We all want to be seen, to be appreciated for who we are. I realize that more and more with the nature kingdom. Everything is waiting for acknowledgment. When I pass my hand across a rock or lean down to cup a flower blossom or lean back upon a tree…..I am saying hello. I am appreciating each thing and it is felt. The energies return to me as a feeling of communion, of community. My magical white dog was a powerful outpicturing of this. I felt such waves of gratitude for his appearance in my day.
It reminded me of a time last year when a dear friend came to join me for a week on my trip. We had stopped at some motel for the night after a long day in the car. After checking in, we decided to go for a walk. There was a residential area to walk in. A couple of blocks into our walk, we came upon a fenced pasture area where a group of llamas were grazing. My friend, who is a total animal lover, began to run towards the llamas. I watched in amazement as one of the larger llamas began to run towards her. It looked like a love scene out of a movie. They were running full speed towards one another, my friend was crying. They met at the fence and exchanged pats and conversation. It was as if they were long lost lovers, suddenly reunited in this tiny town. The whole idea of a group of llamas in this little residential neighborhood was odd to begin with but add in this connection? We stayed awhile before darkness closed in and we had to return to our motel. My friend grieved leaving the llama.
Fortunately for her, the llama is still with her. She calls her, Dolly llama (Dalai Lama?) and she is one of her guides. She rode in the back seat for the remainder of our trip. I could not see her but my friend did and she and Dolly continue to be together on an energetic level. Life is so mysterious. I do not know if my white dog will continue to be with me but I know that I was blessed today by his presence.
I came home and fell into one of my deep wells of sleep, about 3 hours before I could move again. Fortunately, I was able to enjoy cooking a vegie chili and make a yummy salad for my kids who arrived home cold and hungry from one of my daughter’s outdoor boot camps. We talked of new ideas my sons had come up with for our community. We are dreaming it into being. I had put out my heart’s call on the peak today for the next step to be drawn to me. I so want to have a place where others can come as they transition into this new life we are entering. Where they can discover their passion and begin to grow it. Where we can live in harmony with nature and her animals. Where we can support one another in living our truth.
I am grateful for being deeply seen today. What a gift. Thank you, beautiful white dog.
This is a photo of our family dog, Darling, who passed away two years ago. She lived up to her name as she was a darling girl. I wish that I had a photo of my friend, the white dog. Maybe we will meet again.