Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase "each other" doesn't make any sense.

rumi -

Sometimes there are things we feel so deep inside ourselves that we just can't put the thoughts into words. Sometimes language is just not adequate for the things we feel, wrestle with, and know. Today, the selection above is as close as I could get. I heart Rumi.

Peace to all. :)

And Samhain :)

What a lovely day and night we had! The Girl was dressed as a "mobster" and she had so much fun trick or treating with friends. They even made a trip through the graveyard. The Boy and I set up some spooky music for folks walking to our door, and we lit up our pumpkins on a table outside.

I had several teen trick or treaters and I was so thrilled to see big kids in on the fun too. There was a super fat baby "Jack Sparrow" that stole my heart even. ;)

In between kids at the door I made a big batch of homemade chili just like my mom made this time of year, and a warm apple pie heavy on the cinnamon. When the Girl got home we had some friends stop by to show us costumes and we visited them a bit which was fun. Then we had a late dinner and we did some divination. We also watched "The Terror" starring a very young Jack Nicholson. There was a twist I didn't see coming at all. Niiice.

I set some wine and sliced apple outside as an offering, and spent some time outside talking to my mother who passed from this life in 98' as well as any visiting energies. Very peaceful and fun with the kids.

TOO MUCH CANDY! Thank the various gods we are almost out. LOL

               Gratefulness

 
So apparently my new thing is to be absolutely and completely starving the 4 days or so before my cycle. Salt salt and more salt is the thing to crave it seems. And of course salt and bloating go so well together too right? Arrghghghg. lol   The body is a strange and wonderful thing. 

 In thinking of food I was pondering all the ways I am blessed by it. Even in my leanest of lean times with groceries it's been mostly good. I grew up waiting in line with my mom at food banks, and I have done the same as a mother several times (though it's not often these days.) with my own children. I can recall being excited when I was little at the thought of getting a huge thing of peanut butter in our food box because it meant I could have lots of peanut butter toast. As a mother I was excited to see fruit, crackers, and Ramen noodles because I knew I could stretch the noodles out a lot for the kids and that crackers would help with snacks. 

I grew up on Food Stamps, and as a mom my family has been on and off them. Lately, mostly off. What a strange place to be. You're embarrased to need them, but so grateful they are available. You are angry that you have to jump through some of the more degrading red tape procedures to get them, but you do it because...well, because kids have to eat and food isn't free. When I was a kid we had paper food stamps that came in little booklets. You had to rip out the amounts you needed. It took forever and when I was 13 I just wanted to die of shame. Eating my dinner that night I wonder if it ever occurred to me that so many other people would have given everything to feel that shame just so the could eat a fraction of what I had in front of me. Probably not... I was just a kid. 

But I am not a kid now, and yet that same sense of embarrasment and "why don't we have more" still shows up from time to time. On any given week we can spend maybe 80 dollars a week or so on groceries for 4 people (two of them teens) and pets. Occasionally we have more to spend, and often we have less. Sometimes I am so so so frustrated that we don't have more, because sometimes the healthier things are spendy. Sometimes I am truly embarrassed that we don't have as much as other people do. Sometimes I need to remember that I am NOT standing in a food bank line today, and that so many others are.  I need to remember that many people will die from not having enough to eat. And I need to be grateful.  

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Blessed be the Earth for giving birth to this food
Blessed be the Sun for nourishing it
Blessed be the Wind for carrying its seed
Blessed be the Rain for quenching its thirst.

Blessed be the hands that helped to grow this food,
To bring it to our tables
To nourish our minds, bodies, and spirits.

Blessed be our friends, our families, and our loved ones.
Blessed Be.

*  *   *  *  *  *  *  *   *  *  *  *  *  *  *

This food is the gift of the whole universe,

Each morsel is a sacrifice of life,

May I be worthy to receive it.

May the energy in this food,

Give me the strength,

To transform my unwholesome qualities

into wholesome ones.

I am grateful for this food,

May I realize the Path of Awakening,

For the sake of all beings.

 Fall is here for sure. It probably sounds a bit odd to some people when I say that hearing rain pelt my window as I woke up this morning made me smile first thing. Six weeks from now I may be really longing for a bit of sunshine, but today the grey breezy skies and raindrops are pretty nice. 

I talked to someone recently from Florida and they mentioned that Halloween was always pretty warm there. I can barely imagine such a thing. A warm trick or treat experience? We are usually just happy if it's reasonably dry out that night! That's like having an 80 degree day in December or something. Must be the Pagan in me... I need seasons. ;)  

Autumn comes around

  Sneak and creep 

  Blowing leaves still soft

  Detached but not dead yet

  Death is coming though

  For leaves and for the rest

  Autumn is here to prepare

  Work and change

  Bridge summer green to winter white

  A sacred cycle never completed

  Life is coming though

 For leaves and for the rest 

 The link below will take you to a video of the ritual and memorial for Sgt. Patrick Stewart. a veteran who died when his helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan. It's a little old news now, but still wonderful. 

Stewart was Wiccan but the request to have a pentacle on his grave marker was denied by the VA or whoever. It was held up for ever in a swirl of request and denials, but the hard work of the Pagan community and other like minded folks really made it happen. Blessings to all involved, and peace to Sgt. Stewart and his family and friends, as well as to all those who perish during military conflict.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEWnejS7fVc