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.
100 Days of Wonder – #31
Ooh getting closer to Halloween itself! Here’s a picture that isn’t from Disney at all and there isn’t even anything Disney related in it. It’s the Window Decorations from my Birmingham flat from October 2022. Our windows at home now look similar! So how does this picture fit in to the 100 Days of Wonder series. Well, in two ways. Disney absolutely inspired the decorations in the flat and what you can’t see in the picture is the Mickey Mouse pumpkin ornament, a little Zero ornament that lights up and a Disney Halloween Wreath on the door. Secondly, the whole flat was very Disney. Basically all my kitchen utensils and plates etc were Disney, my bedding was Disney, my towels, tea towels, soap dispenser… most things really. The flat was a way of capturing the magic and creating a little oasis in an otherwise work dominated space. The point of the flat was so that I could work in Birmingham but it needed to be and mostly was a space where I could also escape work, set my inner child free and feel safe and in my bubble. It worked, it was perfect. And I have been thinking about that a lot as we are getting ready to sell it. It’s been making me think about our attachment to places and the strong emotions they evoke. My head knows that selling the flat is the only sensible play here but it still pulls at my heart strings. It’s hard to articulate why. It’s just a flat after all but in that flat amidst a whole load of craziness I always felt like me and like my world made sense even if nothing else did. That’s worth a lot and that’s what this tiny flat that looked as though the Disney store had exploded in it did for me. I hope it can do it for someone else now, too.
100 Days of Wonder – #30
It’s been another busy Monday and I managed to go for a run so here’s just a short post. Disney has provided lots of inspiration and nudges to be more creative. So over the last few years we have carved pumpkins for Halloween and most have had some sort of Disney theme. I’m not that good at it but Kath is. Here’s a Dopey one she did a few years ago. How brilliant is that!?!
We haven’t carved ours yet this year but we really need to make time. We so often push fun things to ‘later’ or ‘when we have more time’ and that needs to stop. We have time and being creative and having fun is a priority so let’s all pause, step away from work and email and do something fun!
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