In The Bardo
In our mountain community, which is literally tucked in by Los Padres National Forest, there are pockets of what we call, “green belt.” Basically, these are the areas that were left alone when this community was developed in late 1970s so some of the homes would have views of the forests. The trail I spend a lot of time where I’ve created many of my photos is also on one of those green belts. Recently, the forest services have been doing a lot of clearing. Due to the drought sustained over the last many years, many of the old trees died and became fire hazard. Where it used to feel like a deep forest is now a pretty open field with some healthier old trees still standing. Some of the huge fallen trunks are left in the field and started the process of decaying. Having become so familiar with this forest, I can’t help but notice how these tree trunks would take years and years to decompose after they fell, the in between stage of a tree’s life between being a tree and being a part of the dirt on the ground.
I’m reminded how our body in this human incarnation is also always in the process of “aging.” We are the only species who developed a capacity to actually resist and even reverse this process to a degree, yet we’re all subject to aging and dying. As I face yet another birthday this weekend to turn 61, I am surely heading into my “latter years.” I’m grateful to have general health and ample vitality, but I surely feel various signs of age. I remember when my parents were in their 60s, I could see the aging process so clearly as I lived afar and didn’t get to see them on the regular basis (because we didn’t have FaceTime or Zoom!) Every time I got to see them, which was once a year at the most, they looked noticeably older.
Meanwhile, my mom is still in the hospital. She was expected to be transferred to the hospice shortly after I left, but for some reason the move has been delayed. An unnamed family member, who had discovered the ability to communicate with spirit of those who have crossed over, informed me she had heard from my mom letting her know she wants to cross over but scared and that I needed to guided her to the light. Since then I have been meditating with an intention to assist her in her journey. I am trusting in the natural process for her as she is currently hanging out “in the bardo,” which is in Buddhist concept, an intermediate state between one life and the next. And I pray that her journey is graceful like she was as a person — and continue to send her Metta “May you be safe; may you be peaceful; may you be happy; and may you be free…..”
#YouCanSitWithUs