Autumn - My Favorite Time of Year

 

Kameiwa Cave - Chiba, Japan

Autumn is my absolute favorite time of the year. The harvests are done, and the fields have been turned in readiness for sleep. The animals are all gathering the last of the nuts ands seeds to hoard for the coming Winter. The leaves are a riot of colors ... green, gold, orange, bronze, scarlet, and wine. They swirl and dance in the air and crinkle under puppy paws and human feet. The air is just starting to gain a crispness to it that smells so clean. The wind gusts and lulls and howls through the branches, rustling the leaves on dressed trees and howling through bare limbs of those that have already shed their bounty for the season.

Witchy Wednesday Writing Prompt - Mabon is Upon Us

Writing prompt ideas from The Seasonal Soul

1) Give thanks and recognition of the blessings you've received.

What abundance did you experience this summer? What blessings have you received?

We have been blessed in quite a few ways. We were able to add a bit of time onto my London work trip to explore more of the UK, and that was awesome. We also got to travel with some friends to Texas for a gaming and painting convention. It was our first purely for fun convention since before the pandemic, so it was really nice to gain back that semblance of normalcy. We were able to purchase a new car at relatively affordable payments. It's newer and has better gas mileage than our prior cars, and it's more environmentally friendly as well being an electric hybrid.

2) Acknowledge your personal achievements.

What are some accomplishments that you’re proud of? What changes have you been working on? And how have you grown since the beginning of the year?

I've been slowly working through my mental shit related to my parents passing. It's been long, hard, mostly solitary work, but I am getting there.

3) Give yourself credit for job well done.

Really recognize the things you’ve accomplished and the hard work you’ve put in. Write a note to yourself and express how proud you are of all the hard work you’ve done this year. Talk to yourself like you would a beloved friend, or your child, and let yourself know how proud you are of all your accomplishments.

We organized and facilitated three in-person events, a virtual event, and two directory renewals that all happened within a six month segment of time. That's a ton of work for everyone, with so many moving parts. It could have gone off the rails in so many ways, but it didn't. We should all be proud of that.

Steffie and I put in a new pollinator garden and installed a new vegetable arch and strawberry patch this year to go with our prior three garden boxes. We canned corn, spaghetti sauce, hot wing sauce, and chili starter. We have also successfully brewed multiple batches of beer and cider. 

4) Analyze what is and isn't in balance within yourself and your life.

In what areas of your life to you feel really well balanced? Where do you feel like you’re rockin’ it?Where do you feel out of balance? Why do you think that is? Give yourself 1 action item to bring things back into alignment.

I do not feel like I am rocking anything right now. It's been a struggle to keep up with yard work and house work and gardening and the actual work I get paid for. It has felt like I have been a day to a week behind on everything. I want to give more time to my wife and to myself as well. I feel like there aren't nearly enough hours in the day. I need to give myself some solid time to really rest my mind and soul and rejuvenate so that I can set my mind on what is actually important to the moment with energy and focus.

5) Let go of what isn't serving you.

In order to experience new Soul growth, we need to let go of our old leaves–old patterns and habits that no longer serve us. What are you ready to let go of? What do you need to shed in order for new life to grow?

I need to let go of things that happened or didn't happen in the past so that I can move forward with a clean slate. I can change those things. I can't make those people happy now, and many of them do not deserve my effort to do so. I need to focus only on the hear and now and on what I want to achieve in the future.

The Waning Gibbous Moon - A Moon Phase Writing Prompt

Writing prompt by Natural Black Vegan

The Waning Gibbous moon is the time to reflect on this lunar cycle. This is the time to turn inward with prayer and meditation. Reflect on your intentions and give gratitude for all that has been granted to you thus far. Celebrate the abundance that has been manifested thus far, and prepare to move forward with ease and grace.

*I am grateful for…

I am grateful for my wife. She works hard with me, and she plays hard with me. I have never had anyone in my life (family, SO, friend) who is more of a partner than she is. We laugh so much together. She gets my off beat sense of humor and shares it. She sends me funny or cute pictures/stories randomly during the day because she knows I will enjoy them. She cooks for me and with me. She's always willing to explore a new dish or a new restaurant. Really anything in our lives, if I bring an idea to her and say I wanna try this, she's right there with me to give it a go. I love her completely non-judgemental, adventurous spirit.

*What have I enjoyed about this lunar cycle?

I've enjoyed all of the beautiful green things that have been blooming and fruiting in our garden. Tomatoes and cucumbers and squash. Onions, so many herbs, rhubarb. The pop of a sun warmed cherry tomato in your mouth is such a lovely thing. The milky sweet smell of fresh corn. The way with just a few ingredients yellow squash melts in your mouth like butter. 

*What revelations have been revealed to me thus far?

I did some deep soul searching about my past, my family, and myself and how we all relate to and affect one another. It was and is hard, and it's going to take a while to sort through how I feel about it and how I am going to respond to the revelations.

*How can I take care of myself?

I need to allow myself more down time. Sometimes I over schedule, and I feel so drained that I have to forego something I really wanted to do just to recharge. I feel guilty if I have to cancel or say no to a plan, but I mentally and physically feel awful if I try to do everything. Finding a balance for that should be higher priority. Myself as a priority is something I need to work on.

*In what ways am I growing?

I am becoming more okay just being me. Good, bad, pretty, and ugly. All of me. That's a big step.

A Dream is a Wish ...

Does anyone else have a keen mental understanding that you are in a dream during the dream itself? I do. If I am dreaming as myself (as in I am me in my dream), I cannot shut off the fact that I am 100% aware that I am dreaming no matter what the dream is. I have zero suspension of disbelief.

If I am dreaming that I am not myself, like for example dreaming I am a character from a favorite book, I am fully that character and everything that happens is real to me at the time. If I am myself, it is like I am a viewer following a version of myself doing whatever it is I am dreaming and at the same time am the me in the dream. It's hard to explain. There is always a part of me held back in this viewer role that reminds my dream self that this is all just a dream and that I'll wake up soon every so often.

It's been particularly strong since my parents have passed. I dream of them often, but I am always very aware during the dream that it is only a dream. A few nights ago I was dreaming that I had flown to Alabama and was visiting my parents. My dream self remembered having a good visit with my parents during the day and was thinking about the different things we had done together, the good conversations as my dream self was getting ready for bed. My dream self had the thought that I should tell them both goodnight before sleeping, but the viewer self popped in to remind that they had both passed and wouldn't be there. My viewer self warned that I'd only find an empty room and it was best not to look. Then I woke up.

Similar things have happened many times both before and after my parents passed. I have dreamed of crashing my car or being chased by someone or something else unpleasant, and the viewer steps in to remind me that it's only a dream and that I will wake up fine. Sometimes it will actually be a conversation like, "I don't want to do this!" ... "Well, wake up then! You're dreaming." Or when having a particularly good dream, my viewer self will comment something like, "Wow, this is a really nice dream. The mountains look so realistic."

I do not know if this is normal or not. I've never heard anyone describe anything like it.