If you looked up autumn in the dictionary, there would be a picture of today beside of it. I can honestly say that today was the perfect autumn day. It wasn't too warm....but not too chilly. It was sunny. The leaves were blowing around in the breeze. The air was vibrating with the slowing energy of the year. Nature is winding down for a long sleep. And we, as a people, can feel that as we continue on through the days.
Today, Lisa and I cleaned around the house. We cleaned up old leaves. We cut brush. We moved old limbs and cut back old plants. We also cleaned out our flowerbeds and got everything ready for the upcoming winter season. It felt good being outside in the sunshine. I was very thankful for the warm weather because I know that soon it will be bitterly cold outside.
The year is like a wheel. It turns. Just like the year, we turn. We grow.
October is now just memory to us. The golden days are getting fewer and fewer as we move toward winter. The frosty nights fill us with anticipation about the upcoming holiday season. The white ghosts and skeletons have danced away for another year. In their place, we have the bounty of the fields such as squash, corn, and pumpkins on display. Paper turkeys are up in the schools. Everyone is thinking about the upcoming feast of Thanksgiving.
As we get closer to this next holiday, continue putting away the things of the past. This can be literal. For example, put away those lighter clothes for the heavier clothes and coats needed for winter. Burn off the gardens (when appropriate of course...don't break any laws!). Clean and oil the tools of summer and store them for winter.
You can also do this figuratively. Get rid of old negative relationships that are poison in your life. Rid yourself of negative habits. Banish bad energy from your life. As I like to say sometimes, "I banish all negative thoughts and people into the swirling void." I know it sounds silly, but I am stating aloud my intentions of getting rid of negativity in my life. It isn't healthy to keep these things around.
Right now, think of 5 things for which you are thankful. It can be people in your life....your job....your health. It can be anything for which you are truly thankful. For the upcoming Thanksgiving holidays, collect something that reminds you of these things. If you are thankful for someone special in your life, find a nice picture of this person to display. If you are thankful for your health, get some fresh flowers to put around the house. Remind yourself each day that we all have so many things for which we can be thankful.
I want to leave you this week with something that I found.
An Iroquois Prayer of Thanksgiving
We return thanks to our mother, the earth, with sustains us. We return thanks to the rivers and streams,which supply us with water. We return thanks to all herbs, which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases. We return thanks to the corn, and to her sisters, the beans and squash, which give us life. We return thanks to the bushes and trees, which provide us with fruit. We return thanks to the wind, which, moving the air, has banished diseases. We return thanks to the moon and the stars, which have given us their light when the sun was gone. We return thanks to our grandfather, He who has given to us his rain. We return thanks to the sun, that he has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye. Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit, in whom is embodied all goodness, and who directs all things for the good of his children.
Until next week....class dismissed!
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