The evening’s ocean-filled air breathes in to our small house, strumming the window shades open and closed. My husband and I sit on our couch in the dark, the cats stretch out by our feet.

Moments of peace are brief, as each day the world outside clamors louder than the day before it. People in distant places fight wars. People nearby cling to a rim of reason. We all live on the edge.

The King said to “begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” But with no mentor, no cause, no faith, no hope– we spiral in our coils.

My husband takes my hand, and we walk sleepily to bed. The cats amble after us. The harmonies we can find along the way will keep us from spinning off.