T.S. This year autumn has taken on a more spiritual focus for me. I don't know if that feeling is new, or if I'm just noticing it more this year. Summer has always felt like a more physical season, after all it's a great time to play with the kids, plant and tend a garden, play sports and picnics and swimming. Well lots of options really. But more physical. Fall, though, fall is different. Perhaps it's the emphasis on kids going back to school or maybe the cooler temps that encourage ya to be more contemplative. For me it's the time of year that I love to go for walks (my family likes to think they are cold and stay inside). Waking on my own allows me to let my mind wander and I find myself looking deeper into my spirituality. I dig deeper into myself and read 'deeper' books. It's also the time when I find my kids more cuddly and those deep conversations seem to happen more. Rowan Question: Is Samhain the same as Halloween? For me, they are very, very different. Samhain is a spiritual time for me. As soon as Mabon has ended, I feel a need to turn inwards and focus more on the spiritual. While others are beginning to move their activities inside, I find myself moving outside. The temperature has dropped, but the air is crisp and clean. Many afternoons when the sun is shining, so it's crisp, but not too cold, I'll slide my feet into some cozy wool socks, pour some coffee into a thermos, grab a book, and head outside. Sometimes I'll light a small fire in our tiny fire pit. It's very cozy. This is also my hiking season. Summer hiking is all right, but it's sweaty and buggy. Fall hiking is where it's at. There are fewer bugs and I'm not feeling the trickling stream of sweat pouring down my back or stopping to reapply sunscreen every hour. Most of my hiking supplies are for cold weather. It really is my favorite time of year. I just feel so much closer to the spiritual. By that, I do not mean ancestors, but my relationship with spirit and myself. Samhain is personal and very "inner." Halloween, on the other hand is full of "outer." It's merriment, joy, imagination, and adrenaline. Halloween is a societal allowance to step out of the mundane and into the world of spirit and magic. And I love this. Though, to be honest, I struggle with the adaptation of Halloween into a "month of horror and gore." Especially with a really sensitive child, I've had to change my routes to everywhere to avoid the rated R material on people's lawns (or I'll be getting "Mommy, I'm scared." knocks at 2am). Not to mention, I hate being surrounded by it myself. Halloween is about the slightly spooky and paranormal, not violence and terror. The fantasy aspect is so important. In a world with so much hate and violence, I don't want to step out and see horrors every day for a month. But that's just me. However you enjoy the season, we wish you well!
Rowan and T.S.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWe're so excited to have this place to share our parenting experiences with you! Archives
July 2015
Categories |