There’s really no place for worry.

So much of my time is spent fighting the inexorable march of destruction.

Every new puppy gets older, and the patient with heart failure we helped with medicines, may die or kidney failure in a few months anyway.

Having the transmission rebuilt, the entire AC system, the front shocks, wheel bearings, calipers, brakes, rotors, and tires on your work vehicle – means the alternator can fail the same night a thunderstorms take out power and water at your home.

My back has recovered from the herniated disk I experienced in May of this year. I make sure to walk everyday after work.I am managing my weight. Now I need to buy new shoes, because I’ve worn out the leather uppers from all the extra walking.

I read and study more, to better understand the practice of veterinary medicine, and I can only do that so long now (because I have to walk and care for my back).

It’s all smoke and emptiness.

But I think it’s still true that we can find beauty even in the most dire of circumstances.

Like Galadriel’s phial, still alight in the heart of Mordor itself, we’ve been given enough to keep taking steps through the bleakest and lonliest of nights.