100 Days of Wonder – #33

I hope today brings you a little mischievous fun, a smile or two, maybe too much sugar and definitely time for reflection. I have no idea whether the veil between worlds is thinner today than other days, whether communing with the dead is easier today (or even a thing at all) or whether the pagans maybe just knew how to throw a bloody good party to mark the end of harvest. It doesn’t really matter! As I embrace the modern Halloween spirit today by putting our pumpkins on the front steps, handing out sweets to kids (of any ages) who might want to pop by and enjoy the house all decorated, I am also reflective and thinking about all the people no longer in my life – whether they are not in this world anymore or whether they are just not in my world anymore. I am thinking about the idea of Samhain and autumn turning into winter, about shedding the things that are no longer needed and preparing for rest over winter. I am thinking about how that applies to work – what brings me joy, what projects make me smile and which ones maybe just need to done or benched? Who do I like working with and which relationships maybe don’t work so well (at all, ever or anymore) and what does that mean. What work practices and habits are serving me well and which are not. And beyond work, what do I want my darker months to look like? Have I got a balance between active, healthy, moving, running, strength training and the cuddles under blankets in front of log fires right? What needs to be less and what needs to be more to feed the soul? Is there enough play to go with the inevitability of being an adult? So for me part of today is embracing the playfulness of modern Disney Halloween, suspend reality for a bit and transport myself back to the Disney Halloween party we went to at Disney World. Tomorrow as we roll over into November, a calmer and less sugar fuelled sense sets in and I’ll be ready to take down the decorations and in that act of tidying, cleaning and putting away, prepare for a restful and restorative winter.