In the midst of life...

In the midst of life, we are in death.......... It is the spectre that creeps in the space between consciousness; unfelt by all but those whose life has been coloured by its still, soft touch. It is the darkening shadow in the weary eye of we who have danced briefly in its caress, returning home wiser, more cautious, to live another day.
It reveals itself in small moments, a stark reminder of our own fragile mortality.

A dead fox lies beside the carriageway; a splash of dried blood marking his demise. On the verge, a lone magpie waits to feast upon the carcass, hopping to and fro, wary of the rumbling trucks passing by.

 On the corner by a busy junction, a white bike hangs suspended high upon the railings; its frame interwoven with flowers wilting in the morning sun. A smile from a gently placed photo amplifies the sense of loss. It is but a fleeting glimpse; yet an image forever to remain.

Who will mourn the fox, whose body now cooled lies slowly decomposing, ripening ready to be carried off by carrion crows; or is the very fact its death does not go unnoticed, remembrance enough.

Rebalancing

 When those random acts of life cast you adrift; making you doubt all that was once so familiar ; causing grief and uncertainty; it is then you have the choice to do nothing, curling in corners like a wounded cur; howling to the moon at the injustices of that fickle friend Fate .... or to look past the anger and hurt  to truly see what has evolved from the darkest of times.  
It is the balancing that accompanies a stumble and fall which needs to be held onto; not the factors of the fall itself. 
As the Dalai Lama once said
"I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe."

It is hard. I admit to howling at the moon, often; in that futile way small children do in a fit of pique at not being given their own way.
 Yet following on from recent events, the value of true friendships and the kindness of all around us have served to show that the Universe still has balance; and we mere mortals simply need to adjust in order to rebalance ourselves within it.