As the sun said goodnight, I said hello to my meditation chair. It’s so comfy. It’s where I sink into home.

My candle was nearing the end of its life … and I thought about the end of mine. May it be many years away.

The tiny flame disappeared and then reappeared, again and again. The glow roamed the window frame.

Slowly, slowly … less.

I wanted to feel the moment of extinguishing. So I sat with soft eyes and waited.

Maybe ten minutes after the photo, all was black. I missed the jolt of nothingness. I sighed. And I thought of my wife Jody.

Nine years ago, my dear one lay in a hospital bed as night fell, on the edge of death. Jody could no longer speak. As I held her hand, our eyes met long and long.

And then to sleep, me in a cot near my wife. I sensed that Jody’s moment of death was near but I couldn’t keep my eyes open. In the wee hours, I awoke to no sound … no breathing … the end.

***

What comes now is the hymn Abide With Me:

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away
Change and decay in all around I see
O Thou who changest not, abide with me