Fluffy white flakes fall
Dusting brightest red and green
Seasons together
***
I took the photo above on the last day of October and was inspired to write the accompanying haiku on the first day of November.
From one month to another… November’s here. The holiday season’s coming. A local radio station even started playing Christmas music the day after Halloween.
And, we had snow on Halloween! Not just flurries but actual accumulated snowfall. It was a stormy, windy evening here on October 31st. The wind knocked down a tree in our neighborhood, which hit a transformer. And our power went out. In a very spooky Halloween-ish way, the lights flickered repeatedly several times before going dark. The electricity was out for two hours.
Like many things, it was outside our control. We lounged in the light of candles or battery-powered devices. We layered up to stay warm as the house got colder. We accepted and lived in the moment.
To be fair, I wasn’t thrilled with all aspects of the early season snow. My commute on Tuesday morning and afternoon and again on Wednesday morning was not good. The roads and sidewalks were icy. I wasn’t prepared to drive on slippery roads or gingerly navigate icy walkways just yet.
At the same time, there was so much beauty in the overlapping of fall’s bright colors and a dusting of powdery snow. The colors, the crisp air, the soft flakes. So much delight! So much joy in the juxtaposition of the seasons.
Also, we set our clocks back last night for Daylight Saving Time. It was dark at 4:30pm this afternoon. YIkes! It’s a good example of those efforts at control, which I wrote about a bit in last week’s newsletter, that we humans tend toward. I’m not debating the efficacy of Daylight Saving Time. I understand there are pros and cons. I’m just pointing out how we continually try to meld the calendar and the clock to our world rather than follow the rhythms of the days and the seasons.
When I think of the in-between, I think of this. I think of focusing more on what is, rather than on what should be. I think of savoring snowflakes on a pumpkin and candlelight when the electricity goes dark.
May we aspire to live more by the rhythms of the days and the seasons.
May we especially do so as we continue the trifecta from Halloween to Thanksgiving to Christmas. And then jump right into a brand new year!
It can be easy to focus on the events and obligations of the holidays during November and December.
May we savor instead the delights of the senses and the feelings of interconnectedness with all living beings.
Thanks for reading.
Gratefully,
Mary