Halloween
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Your harvest, your life
“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” ~Oprah Winfrey Late autumn inspires us to take stock of everything we’ve planted or accomplished, large and small. And it’s only fitting that Thanksgiving quickly follows Halloween, wrapping up the harvest season. The month of November offers a choice: to reflect on all the good things we’ve reaped, or to dwell on the difficulties and disappointments we’ve incurred. More than likely, your own personal harvest includes both. What will you choose to focus on over the next few weeks? ~Cindy La Ferle
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Happy Halloween!
“There is a child in every one of us who is still a trick-or-treater looking for a brightly-lit front porch.” ~Robert Brault The practice of trick-or-treating actually began a few hundred years ago in Europe as an All Souls’ Day (Nov. 2) tradition. The less fortunate would visit the homes of wealthier families and receive pastries known as “soul cakes” in exchange for a promise to pray for the souls of the homeowners’ deceased relatives. The tradition was called souling and was later adopted by children. In Scotland and Ireland — where many of today’s Halloween traditions began — children and young adults disguised themselves in costumes and asked for small…
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Halloween people
“Some people are born for Halloween, and some are just counting the days until Christmas.” ~Stephen Graham Jones It’s no secret that I’m a major Halloween fan. Every year, I eagerly await the start of the spooky season, and usually start decorating on October 1st. One of my friends calls me “The Halloween Queen” because she doesn’t know anyone who collects as many Halloween decorations and accessories as I do. To be fair, some of those items (including a set of Halloween wine glasses) were gifts from others who’ve indulged my affection for the holiday. For me, Halloween always stirs a cauldron of happy childhood memories — making costumes with my…
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Identity crisis?
“The reward for conformity is that everyone likes you but yourself.” ~Rita Mae Brown When I was in my teens, everyone in high school worked hard to fit in with her peer group. Even the non-conformists dressed like the other non-conformists. One of the gifts of aging is discovering that you finally feel comfortable in your own skin. You stop caring whether or not your clothing (or anything else you own) is on trend. You stop trying to impress others and start making choices that reflect your own taste and character. In short, you worry less about what other people think of you — because you realize that most people…
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Do you believe in magic?
“Surrender to the way things want to happen next, even though this often involves a vast and terrifying loss of control. Trust the magic that was born into your soul.” ~Martha Beck, Finding Your Way in a Wild New World There’s a lot of research explaining why some people don’t enjoy horror films or ghost stories — or anything else in which things appear to be manipulated by unseen forces. If you fit this psychological profile, you’re probably the sort of person who likes to remain “in control” most of the time. Chances are, you’re also the person who’s trying to figure out exactly how the magician is performing his…
