A True Path in Life

Sunday morning.  It's still winter for sure.  I look out the office windows and it's still outside.  And white on the ground and the sky is grey.  The dogs don't seem to notice.  They're not like us humans.  They're pretty much the same from day to day.  None of them need anti-depressants, unlike someone else I know.  Well hell, if I play my cards right I'll stay busy today and do a heart pumping ski later on.  My goal will be to "keep it in the middle," as Jack would say.  I was the last to know.

My oldest, Dane, is leaving today, driving east to meet his wife and son to start a new life.  I can't say I wasn't surprised.  We'd had quite the party the past eleven months.  Dane worked with me and Fe worked as well and they both did a great job with Elias, bringing him along.  I thought, incorrectly they were pretty happy in Montana.  Little did I know.  And to set the record just right, we all did pretty well together.  But, this is rough, rugged, harsh, and unforgiving country.  It's got to suit you to live here and be happy.  The winter's are brutal and  money is always an issue.  But that's the worst of it in my opinion.  The people here are good, close knit, and always have your back.  I know Dane and Fe recognize the good and the bad and quite frankly, this neck of the woods will always have a real special place in their hearts.  But kids got to go and make their marks in the world, just like I did years ago.  Nevertheless, my heart is heavy today.  I take great solace in the world around me.  If I choose to I can listen closely for the coyotes out back.  And when they start yipping I damn well might yip back.  Hell, they're  telling me something.  I don't know what that is but I'll try and guess and when I yip back maybe they'll know I'm trying to tell them something as well.  The wolves to the north of the coyotes may be a bit more expressive.  They'll not yip, they howl a high, mournful call to the coyotes, me, the dogs, and each other.  Or maybe they howl to express their own sadness or joy.
How the hell do we know how they feel?  We can only guess.  But for the record, I think those coyotes and wolves I hear are alright.  We're not hunting them,  They have nothing to fear from me I know.  Oh, I can talk  tough but that's just bar talk.  I think the dogs are jokers as well.  Between the dogs, the coyotes, and the wolves, they make a helluva racket just before dark, when it's real quiet.  I think they're just entertaining each other.

Ten Bears said "every man must find his true path in life."  We all do.  We're lucky if we're on the search for that path, much less able to find it.  The journey to that fulfilled life is a big part of the path we follow.  The final destination is somewhat problematic and perhaps that's what we begin to see as we live our last moments in this life.  The journey on that path to fulfillment is the unfinished life, the incomplete life that keeps us moving along.  I think Dane and his family are continuing their journey and it's going to be a good one.  The heavy heart and the sadness I feel has a flip side, however.  I have a strong feeling that they'll come out the back side of that journey having found that true path in life.

It's grey today but it may very well be blue tomorrow.  I think it will be.  I'll do a ski to the north, towards the coyotes and the wolves.  It's getting close to denning season.  There's got to be some young families making preparations for their new arrivals.  Maybe the adults of both species are mapping their strategies for survival and success on planet earth.  I'm not going to get in the way.  And if Dane, Fe, and Elias have a change of heart along the way as they find their path in life they can always come back home.  I think those coyotes and wolves are telling us all something.  I need to listen.