I have 2 dogs, Olivia and Marley. Olivia is Yorkshire mix. She is about 5 lbs. Marley is a Golden Retriever mix. She is about 50 lbs. And I have a cat named Calli. They all live in the house. Olivia is the mother of this crew. Whatever she says Marley and Calli do. I take the dogs outside between 5am and 6am. I do it just before I go to work. When I go outside it is absolutely silent. All that actually can be heard are the crickets. Olivia and Marley can hear better than I can. So when we are outside I watch them as they go about their business. They will stop and listen and look in the direction of the sound. But I can’t hear a thing. But if they start barking, I have to bring them inside. At that time of day, most people are asleep. It is still dark. But I walk outside and I can hear my own heartbeat. I usually don’t say anything. I can feel the darkness. It wraps me like a blanket. It is just me out there. I always can feel that I am not alone. There is no one out there that I can see. But there is an ever present being walking with me. The silence is so loud that everything is blocked out. I can think clearly. There is nothing to distract me. It is there that I come to myself and understand who I am. As my dogs go about their business, I cry out saying, O Lord, it is I standing here in need of prayer.
Joseph1637/Crain Blanchard 