Chloe's Year

6:15am – I’m awake in bed trying to decide if I should get up and start the New Year off with a morning walk and meditation alone at my newly found favorite bench or stay in bed and snuggle with my husband and dogs.  Both options are tempting but I tell myself that the only thing that matters is happening right now…and this thought compels me to get out of bed, brew some much needed coffee, get my sweats and tennis shoes on…and go outside and see what’s going on out there right now.

I start my walks most mornings with some steep hills to get warmed up.  One morning a few weeks ago I ventured up a new path and found a bench…on top of the hill in our neighborhood overlooking all of Alta Mira and capturing 180 degree ocean views.  It is breathtaking.  The eleven miles of my neighborhood greenbelts here are such a gift and this bench, under the tree, on top of the hill with views unlike anywhere else in Carlsbad was just icing on the cake for me!

So today, I decide I’m going to walk up there, meditate, be one with myself for a while, and go inward.  It’s New Year’s Day and I want to spend this year expanding my meditation practice.  So I sit on the concrete base in front of the bench, cross-legged and I take in my surroundings for a while.  I breathe deeply.  The fog is settled into little valleys and the sky is pink.  The ocean is glassy and crystal clear.  The birds sing.  The dew on the grass penetrates my sweats and socks and kisses the outsides of both ankles.  The cold concrete numbs my butt and my eyes gently close.  I am at one with myself.  My authentic self.  I am confident and relaxed.  I am at peace…and just as I start to fall deeper into this amazing meditative state on this perfect beautiful day at the most beautiful spot in the world, my eyes open.  I am being approached by a HUGE dog…St. Bernard, maybe?  She is running towards me and I notice she’s running with only three legs.  Her owner is right behind her assuring me that she’s friendly but I’m not afraid.  This dog just wants to say hello.  I can tell she’s a friendly one…

I spend some time with the two of them and Joanne introduces herself and her dog Chloe.  We talk about the view and how I just found this spot and had been enjoying it in the early mornings recently.  She tells me that when her dog Olivia passed away last year, the neighborhood came together and installed the bench in Olivia’s memory.  Come to find out it’s a favorite spot at sunset for all of the neighbors and their dogs.  Joane told me that they all come out and bring their wine, let the dogs run around and they laugh and share stories of their day and watch the sunset from here.  From this bench.  Olivia’s bench. 

Not only did Chloe lose her sister last year, but she also lost her back leg to cancer.  So 2012 promises to be a good year of health and strength…I told Joanne about my dogs and our neighborhood New Year’s Eve party we had last night while she handed me cookies to give to Chloe who wanted to show me how good she could shake hands.  Chloe’s eyes were happy eyes and she had a lot of love to give. After we said our good-byes, wished each other a Happy New Year, and excused Chloe to her breakfast that was awaiting her at home, I was overcome with so much peace and joy that tears began to stream down my face.  I had gone to this place to be alone with myself and meditate…and what I got instead was a much more valuable gift.  A reminder that one-ness is with everything.  I was one with Joanne and Chloe this morning.  Our hearts were open and we received each other’s presence as a gift.  Being alone is not what makes us enlightened beings.  Being in relation and being open and sharing our peace and joy with other beings is an even more powerful gift.

I have read somewhere about how everything in life, on earth, in this universe is about being in relation with something else.  The waves wouldn’t exist without water or the moon.  The flowers rely on bees to pollenate and in return the flowers nourish the bees.  The baby relies on its mother for food and in return the baby gives joy and purpose to its mother’s life.  We ALL rely on eachother in one way or another…everything is about relation.  Everything.  Earth, Water, Sun, Moon, Stars, Planets, Animals, humans.  We are all interrelated.  This is true one-ness.  This year, I intend to be more aware of my relationships and to spread laughter and joy to those who I cross paths with.  Today I met Joanne and Chloe and they were a precious gift to me.  Thank you, Universe.