In the Middle of Autumn
So I'm going through a bunch of stuff on my phone when I find my Blogger app and realize I never updated anything for October here. How totally embarrassing and unlike me. If you've been checking in regularly, I apologize.
That being said, Do you believe it's actually the middle of fall? Yup, pretty much smack dab in the middle between the Autumn equinox and Winter Solstice, which you do know to be the official start of Winter, right?
We just got done last weekend turning our clocks back and hour to end daylight savings time, and subsequently are dealing with the early darkness that sets in. To think that this was normal for thousands of years! Kind of gives a new meaning to "early to bed, early to rise", doesn't it? I mean, if you wanted to take full advantage of the daylight hours in the late fall and winter, that's exactly what one needed to do!
This time of year has a tendency to put one in a reflective mood. Most of the trees have lost their leaves and a nearly dormant in preparation for their winter rest. The squirrels are going goofy hiding the last of their acorns and various other nuts they can find before the snow sets in, and those lovely people that garden have planted their Spring bulbs and put out their mums. Pumpkins are still pretty plentiful, so there will be pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread, maybe even sausage and rice stuffed pumpkin (which is one of my autumn favorites) or pumpkin soup for Thanksgiving/Indigenous People's Day.
Either way, it is a time to start slowing down. Now you're probably thinking, "slow down, Sharon? Are you nuts? Christmas/Yule is coming! There's going to be shopping, and parties to go to, gifts to wrap, etc!!" Yeah, ok, and your point is what exactly? The frantic pace of the time between the fourth Thursday in November and the 31st day of December is one of our own making. Right now, you have some much needed down time available and need to take advantage of it.
I can't help think of the rune Berkana-reversed for this time of year. Think of a backwards B, Madonna style and there you have it. This is the earth going to rest in our part of the hemisphere, slowing down, shutting down, going dormant, but by no means stopping. Underneath the ground there is still activity, from burrowing animals to seeds and bulbs that slowly gestate and transform, waiting patiently for the right time to thrust upward and bring us their beauty.
Likewise, so too must we rest, slow down, renew and refresh. This is the time to sit around fireplaces or a kitchen table, in a family room and have quality time together. Play board games and do things without the benefit of a smartphone, tablet or computer. To regale each other with thoughts, ideas, and actually hear each other's real voices. For when the fourth Thursday of November has come and gone, everything will get really crazy for some, and these few precious weeks will become but a memory.
So take a break my friends. Slow down, rest, and renew yourselves. Allow yourself the precious gift of time with each other, and some time with just yourself as well. You need it now, and you'll need it to get you through "holiday season".
That being said, Do you believe it's actually the middle of fall? Yup, pretty much smack dab in the middle between the Autumn equinox and Winter Solstice, which you do know to be the official start of Winter, right?
We just got done last weekend turning our clocks back and hour to end daylight savings time, and subsequently are dealing with the early darkness that sets in. To think that this was normal for thousands of years! Kind of gives a new meaning to "early to bed, early to rise", doesn't it? I mean, if you wanted to take full advantage of the daylight hours in the late fall and winter, that's exactly what one needed to do!
This time of year has a tendency to put one in a reflective mood. Most of the trees have lost their leaves and a nearly dormant in preparation for their winter rest. The squirrels are going goofy hiding the last of their acorns and various other nuts they can find before the snow sets in, and those lovely people that garden have planted their Spring bulbs and put out their mums. Pumpkins are still pretty plentiful, so there will be pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread, maybe even sausage and rice stuffed pumpkin (which is one of my autumn favorites) or pumpkin soup for Thanksgiving/Indigenous People's Day.
Either way, it is a time to start slowing down. Now you're probably thinking, "slow down, Sharon? Are you nuts? Christmas/Yule is coming! There's going to be shopping, and parties to go to, gifts to wrap, etc!!" Yeah, ok, and your point is what exactly? The frantic pace of the time between the fourth Thursday in November and the 31st day of December is one of our own making. Right now, you have some much needed down time available and need to take advantage of it.
I can't help think of the rune Berkana-reversed for this time of year. Think of a backwards B, Madonna style and there you have it. This is the earth going to rest in our part of the hemisphere, slowing down, shutting down, going dormant, but by no means stopping. Underneath the ground there is still activity, from burrowing animals to seeds and bulbs that slowly gestate and transform, waiting patiently for the right time to thrust upward and bring us their beauty.
Likewise, so too must we rest, slow down, renew and refresh. This is the time to sit around fireplaces or a kitchen table, in a family room and have quality time together. Play board games and do things without the benefit of a smartphone, tablet or computer. To regale each other with thoughts, ideas, and actually hear each other's real voices. For when the fourth Thursday of November has come and gone, everything will get really crazy for some, and these few precious weeks will become but a memory.
So take a break my friends. Slow down, rest, and renew yourselves. Allow yourself the precious gift of time with each other, and some time with just yourself as well. You need it now, and you'll need it to get you through "holiday season".
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