Behind The Light In The Window
Behind The Light In The Window
"Why do you leave the light on in the window my dear Spirit Angel?" Joe asked his wife." "Well, Adahy. The name Joe's wife Jenny often called her husband which means, Lives in the Woods. "There's a reason why I have been leaving that light on, night and day and I'm not ready to share that reason with you Joe. Jenny's response to her husband who she truly and affectionately loved was not meant to be secretive. Joe understood his Spirit Angel wife, and that she had her own special ways of sharing her most inner spiritual thoughts.
Joe and Jenny lived in a flagstone and adobe dwelling that sat outside of Monument Valley. It was never clearly understood if they lived on the reservation or just outside of its boundaries. Their home was built two generations before they were born, right on the Utah-Arizona state line. Jenny met Joe when she was 16 at a Tribal Council meeting. Joe was just turning 19. They got to know each other in spite of Jenny's parents disapproval. On Jenny's 18th birthday she and Joe became husband and wife. Their life together was a happy and loving one. Joe and Jenny had six children, as each of them became adults they moved away to start their own lives and find meaningful jobs. Leaving Joe and Jenny to spend their final years in the mostly remote adobe and flagstone dwelling. The home was built by Joe's ancestors and was handed down to him. When they first moved into it they had no electricity but it did have a very productive water well. About the time their second child was born electrical power made its way into the entire community and they finally had electricity. Jenny did almost all of her cooking in a Horno, a mud adobe-built outdoor oven. Jenny would cook or bake vegetables from their garden and she would bake all of her bread in that outdoor oven.
It was very common for people that lived like Joe and Jenny to raise goats. Daily they would milk the goats and Jenny would make cheese and goats milk bread. They would load some hand wrapped cheese and the goat's milk bread into a chest in the back of Joe's old Ford pickup truck. Joe, like most of the men in his parts wore cowboy hats. Jenny, whose hair was always braided and tied with ribbon dressed more traditionally like her mother. When she rode in Joe's truck she would pull on a scarf to protect her from the wind and hot overhead sun. She had on a very colorful knee-length skirt which also helped her stay cool. Joe always wore the same thing, jeans and a dungaree shirt. On weekends they would go down a dirt road that led to a small paved road that some people used to reach one of the more famous Butte formations in the valley near them. The valley area was considered to be sacred by the Navajo nation. Both Joe and Jenny often talked about the ancestors and the special energy that seemed to permeate the whole area.
One afternoon when they were both on the side of the road selling goat's milk bread and cheese, Jenny was sitting on a woven rug that she draped over a flat rock near the truck. Joe sat on the tailgate rocking his legs back and forth in a playful motion. He thought it was a good time to ask Jenny about the light in the window. There wasn't much traffic on the road so they mostly just sat there underneath some trees and enjoyed the balmy desert breeze.
"Jenny, would this be an okay time for me to ask you why you leave the light on in the window all night long?" When Joe asked that question he wasn't looking directly at Jenny, he was staring off in the distance, trying to make sure he wasn't being too inquisitive. He knew better than to push her for an answer. It was just a casual question he proposed. Jenny was just sitting there almost not paying any attention to Joe. Her fingers were playing with and were intertwined in the simple turquoise necklaces she was wearing. At first she ignored the question. Joe decided to just sit there and not confront her anymore about the light in the window. About this time a young couple riding in an open Jeep pulled off the road and asked Jenny what kind of bread they were selling. The couple learned that it was Jenny's special baked goat's milk bread. The woman from the Jeep spoke to Jenny and said, "This sounds absolutely wonderful, did you make it in your Horno?" Jenny was surprised that this young girl knew about that type of oven. Jenny replied to the young woman, "Yes it's my special way of making bread, it's a recipe that my mother, my grandmother and my great-grandmother used. I'm very proud to know that you can appreciate my baked bread. I hope you find it good tasting." The girl with her male companion that rode up in the Jeep smiled, and said, "I know it will be absolutely wonderful, and I thank you so much for the opportunity to buy it, and of course eat the bread." It was obvious to both Jenny and Joe that this couple in the Jeep were out exploring the Southwest. They were very happy that they stopped and talked to them. The man who was with the girl put his arm around the young woman's shoulders and said, "I'm so glad we stopped and I am really looking forward to eating your special bread, I think it will be very lucky for us." Once they drove off Jenny looked over at Joe and said, "In a strange way they remind me of us, and how much fun and love we had when we would explore the valley together." Joe, still watching them drive off into the distance, turned to Jenny and simply nodded his head. Then he turned to Jenny and said, "I love you just as much now as I did then, perhaps I love you even more. In fact I know I love you even more. We are both so much wiser and we have both shared so many joyful times together. I know that we were destined to be together. The respect and our love for each other is our heritage from all those that have passed before us." Jenny, who didn't show her emotions very much, did her best to hold back a tear. Her eyes watered up as she told Joe that there must be some dust in the wind. Joe said to Jenny, "Yes there must be some dust in the wind."
Jenny was starting to tear up. Joe said, "Jenny, share with me your thoughts right now." "I was sitting here thinking of the young girl in the Jeep, they both had pale eyes but hers were green like you see in nature. She gave off a very special energy, she must be a very wise soul who has lived many lives. The man with her is very lucky, I pray that they have a very happy life together." Joe sat quietly and listened to those words from his beloved Jenny. He knew that she had a special gift for truly reading people's character. Joe replied to Jenny and said, "Although I am not blessed with your special gift of love and understanding for those that you meet, I believe you said the young girl had wisdom in her eyes. I hope the young man is as lucky as I have been when I found you Jenny.
After some quiet time passed between Joe and Jenny. Jenny decided she would tell Joe about the light in the window. Again Joe nodded his head and said "I don't want to force you, I guess I'm just curious you are my Angel Spirit, you have always been the wise one when it comes to understanding the gifts of nature and the gifts from our ancestors. I know you talk with our ancestors. You sharing about the light right now, did that have anything to do with the couple and the Jeep?" Jenny's eyes had become clear now there were no more signs of tearing up. "You may have more knowledge than you give yourself, my husband Joe." Jenny said, looking at Joe knowing she could see into his soul.
Jenny, this time with her head up and looking at her dear husband Joe, began to tell him about the light being left on in the window. "Some time ago I had a very deep dream. I had a dream that night that I forgot to turn the light off in the window. In that dream I was sitting by myself in an ancient Kiva. While I sat there I started to look around the room and ancient peoples started to become. What I mean is they almost came out of the mist. The benches around the Kiva filled up with what I learned were many generations of our ancestors. One by one they came over and greeted me. Some of the elders put their hands on my forehead. I realized that they were putting ashes from the centerfire on my face. All of the members seemed to be focused on me. I was frightened and did not know why I was there. Soon I could hear voices in my ears, but I could see no one speaking to me. Some of the voices were simply chanting. Others seem to be telling stories of hunting. The old women were telling me of harvesting corn. All of this was very confusing. Even though all of the voices were coming into my mind somehow I could distinguish all the different messages. Back in the deep shadows a young woman stood up and walked towards me. Her hair was like the color of the girl in the Jeep, and her eyes were pale green. That's why I became so emotional when I saw the girl in the Jeep. The woman in the Kiva stood in front of me and she talked to my soul. She told me to leave the light on in the window. She told me that we were going to be reunited with our ancestors. The light in the window was to show our willingness to be amongst all of the peoples in our family that had gone before us. The fair one with the pale green eyes put her hands on my shoulders, I could see her lips move but no sound came out. But her words became one with mine in my head. She told me we all live in the spirit world even when our bodies are here on earth. We should learn that we never die, we only transition. The transition is the many times we pass on earth. All of the ancestors in the room have lived many lives over many centuries. Joe, you and I are very blessed and we will see many more lives." Joe who was listening attentively said, "Thank you my Spirit Angel for telling me of your dream. Although I don't understand much about the meaning of life, but I do know we must share our knowledge. We must teach the young to respect nature, and to respect and care for each other. Isn't that what our lives are supposed to be Jenny? Replying to Joe's question, "Yes Joe when the young couple in the Jeep eats our goat bread they will be filled with the spirit of love and peace. Like the Bible refers to bread as being the staff of life, the bread I bake with love. I talked over the bread and let it speak to our ancestors and let them share their knowledge and wisdom. Maybe the light in the window brought this couple to us, so I could give them the bread of wholesome, good thoughts and a long, happy life.
You may be wondering who was that couple in the Jeep? The young girl became my wife and we have been together for over 40 years. She has become very wise perhaps like the Indian couple we met out in the desert. The goat bread brought us a wonderful feeling inside not just because it tasted incredibly good, but because when we shared the bread out on another desert road where you can see for many miles in every direction. Something special happened to us. The girl with the pale green eyes saw into the future and knew our life together would be filled with Love. And you know what? It has been and will continue to be so.