The Dance of Love

Today John and I celebrated our 47th anniversary!  Yes, we were very young when we got married.  And I like to think we are both still young at heart,  willing to try new things, explore, and most certainly enjoy the harvest years of "the Golden Age,"  which is what a card we got recently is called.  It lets us in , free!, to national parks all over the country, and gives us half off lots of state parks as well.   We have already made good use of it. Age does have its perks!

The round picture is a painting by a friend, Kuwica, which she did for us, depicting her intuition of us, after she stayed with us a few days.  I think its a beautiful and sensitive rendering of the dance of love between us, and, as an archetype, of the balance and inter-relationship of the masculine and feminine which is so important in our earthly life.  In this ideal dance and balance, both masculine and feminine lead and follow, weaving in and out of each other's lives, living in a way that combines oneness and difference.   

When a couple has danced together as long as we have,  there have been times when toes have been stepped on, and the dance has gotten difficult.  But there are many more times when the dance takes on its own life, and we are caught up in a Music and Love far greater than our own.

The dance becomes sheer joy, and "the dance goes on..."   

The other picture is of us sitting together in the sun during a walk at Cathedral Rock.  I think it captures the warmth and closeness of many shared experiences, and the relaxing into a life of more togetherness as we enjoy many glorious days and nights in this magical place called Sedona where we have been blessed to live as we enter our "retirement" years.   This is the time when we can enjoy the harvest of all the earlier years of hard work, raising a family, and the inevitable stresses of two demanding careers.   We are grateful we have the health and good spirits to be able to enjoy this stage of life together. I think of it as "holy leisure!"

In Hindu wisdom, life has stages which it is wise to honor.  The first stage is that of student.

The second is that of householder, when one takes one's place in society, and through work and family makes a contribution.  The third is when one retires from these responsibilities , and becomes a "forest dweller,"  preparing for the Great Transition to the life beyond this one, focusing one's attention on spiritual living, and being available to offer hospitality, wisdom, and love to those who are in the earlier stages of life.   I like to think of us now as "forest dwellers."

It just so happens that both here and in our cottage on Lake Michigan, we dwell in a forest.  They are very different kinds of forest, but in both places, the presence of large trees surrounding us remind us of long lives, well lived, in good company.   That's about as good as it gets!