Christmas Morning

6:00 am roles around awfully early in the dead of winter. It is nice to get a good sound sleep though. No New York traffic noises. No helicopters. No bumping against the wall. No running up and down the stairs at 3 or 4 in the morning (Lance moved out). When I first moved to New York there used to be gun shots in the night. Not every night but enough nights. I don't put the apartment keys between my knuckles anymore. A good nights sleep, it makes you want to get up and work.

The temperature is around zero and no new snow has fallen. It should begin to slowly melt and the rains are supposed to start on the weekend. Friends are coming over in the late afternoon for Christmas dinner. It will be very relaxed, buffet style, sitting around the living room rather than a formal seating. The fireplace in the living room needs some repairs so it won't be lit and the fireplace in the den hasn't been used for a few years, aah! Only the downstairs fireplace is working because it has a cast iron insert and used regularly over the winter. Well, at least I don't have to cut and split wood on Christmas day.

On this holy and sacred day I have offered up a mountain goat (not a real goat, just called a goat), not for feasting, or sacrifice, but for viewing. This photo was taken on a fall day in October (2005) when I was meditating in a cliff side cave high above my retreat cabin in the mountains. Two goats came by to check on me and make sure I was O.K. Maybe he is checking in on you too! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everybody!