The Light of Encouragement
Nurturing Mind, Body, Soul and Spirit
Greetings Friends!
And just like that, chilly windy weather has arrived for Halloween!
As we enter the busy season of autumn, I send encouragement and I want to share some light!
Spring may be attractive after a long winter, but we revel in the deep reds, browns, unique shapes of drying seed pods, aromas and warmth of the fall season!
I’m not a fan of shorter days, but I love celebrations and illuminated winter holidays. I am eager to return to Paris during the festive season.
This week, we lost electric power late one evening. It seems crazy that it kept us awake! After we located the flashlights and votives, we were able to welcome the deep desert darkness.
It reminded me that it is not the darkness, but the knowledge that light is unavailable or hard to access that troubles us.
What a metaphor for our day!
We need the light of encouragement and to share that light. We have choices to make!
“Light and shadow are opposite sides of the same coin. We can illuminate our paths or darken our way. It is a matter of choice.” ~ Maya Angelou
“A candle loses nothing when it lights another candle.” ~Thomas Jefferson
“There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” ~Edith Wharton
I believe light represents truth. Many years ago when I first read John Keats’ Ode on a Grecian Urn in high school, I was struck by the last lines:
“When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."
The ode describes unfulfilled events depicted artfully on a Grecian urn – as each “leaf-fring'd legend haunts about thy shape” - lovers about to kiss, leafy green trees whose leaves will never fall. Each event is about to occur, but is preserved in time.
We will find beauty in the journey - the process, growing, aging, learning, maturing and recognizing diversity in individual paths-makes our lives richer.
I urge you to look to truth – verified reality such as the four seasons.
Remember, there is a season…and our actions have consequences.
The decades old lyrics of the Byrds remind us
“To everything turn, turn, turn
There is a season turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under Heaven
A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn…
A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace…
And a time to every purpose under Heaven’
These lyrics were based on the words in scripture l from Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3. The language of the King James Bible expresses it eloquently:
‘To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up”
I pray that we can look forward to this rich season’s blessings; create beauty, kindness, and justice; collaborate as people, nations, and artists. Each small creation inspires more.
Years ago, when I was in second grade, my mother was inspired by a poem by her dear friend, Esther Baldwin York Burkholder. A city girl, my mom was enthralled with country life we found during the two years we spent in the San Joaquin Valley.
My mother's dear friend, moderately well known as a poet, sent two versions of an autumn poem which referred to fall leaves as Post Toasties, a name for breakfast cereal from a by-gone era. My mom created a farm scene. The barn was cardboard, and the ground was plaster of Paris. Twigs stood as trees, and Post Toasties were leaves - with hints of paint for color. Early in my career as a teacher, I displayed the little diorama in my classroom. Today, I have only the fuzzy photo and the hand typed poems on vellum.
November Breakfast ~Esther Baldwin York
(1939)
Dame Nature hollows out our garden bed
Fills up it bowl, where now no flowers grow,
With brown Post Toasties of crisp autumn leaves,
And sugars it with crystals of first snow.
(1962)
October filled her bright blue bowl
With crispy leaves , and lo-
Hungry November came along
And sugared them with snow
May this lovely collaboration be inspiration for our future! For beauty, shared experiences, valued friendships and light in the darkness. Let us seek verified truth and vote accordingly!
Wishing you a smile, encouragement and hope.
Happy Harvest season and Halloween!
Inspired by all of you,
P.S. If I haven’t made you smile yet, these may make you smile (or laugh out loud!)
