Creepy cabin screaming teen
Blood smeared mirror won’t come clean
Once tan skin blueish-green
Razor fingers slicing spleen
Vincent Price upon the screen
Grizzly Breathing heard not seen
Severed heads on snapped spines lean
Just another Halloween
Trick or Treat?
If you live in the middle of the U.S. then you can almost always count on one thing. The weather on or about Halloween is going to take a drastic turn and not for the better. Sometimes it’s right on the 31st, but more often it is on beggers’ night when the kids, sometimes not so little come knocking seeking something to rot their teeth and thwart any serious effort to promote public health.
With the parade of candy craving vampires, clowns and other creeps (no not politicians) we see all kinds of unique costume efforts and some not so ambitious efforts. This prompts a question.
What costumes have we worn or do we wear without getting much candy to show for it?
Do we wear a dress shirt and a tie to convince folks to drop a few extra dollars in our wallet? Do we wear a white coat to convince people we know about their bodies than they do? Do we wear a polyester uniform with a matching hat to convince folks the “want fries with that?” Do we wear a badgee, belt,hard hat or tutu? Do we do these things to tell folks who we are and what to expect? did we wear a plaid skirt or shirt with a collar to convince the pontiff that we were on the way to salvation? Did we tie dye things to prove our far out grooviness? Do
Do we put on these costumes to show people we are just acting the part or to show others we are comfortable in our skin? Do we put on the costumes to change our attitude toward the actions we are about to take. In short, are these costumes about acceptance?
While this is not a promotion for nudity, it seems. Like sometimes the search for peace and joy gets derailed a bit when we start confusing the costumes. We wear with the people we are. We get caught up in attaching what we do with who we are and the purpose for doing it. Surely sometimes we wear a costume to represent our true self,however how often is it done to show folks what we think they want to see?
How often do we wear a costume because it is what someone else believes “fits us (not that I’m bitter about having to wear that little clown outfit for three years in a row…yep the one with the plastic mask with holes that never really lined up with my eyes and nose….. thus I was a totally blind asthmatic tiny kid running through the neighborhood yelling wait up and trick or treat snapping out an occasional thank you as I turned to go down steps trying to avoid the next Cinderella and Abe Lincoln.
Ok I’m over that sort of…except the streak of being the clown ended with being a pirate with a homemade wooden sword that was somehow converted into a nice wooden paddle I suspect this sort of hardened my heart with regard to the Halloween costume deal.
In sum, we all wer some costumes once in a while. If you are in charge of what another person wears be aware of what it means…. Does it mean someone is a part of a team or is it meant to dull someone’s individuality? Helping someone be identified as unique is not the same as grouping them with a label suggested by brown pants and a polo shirt with a name tag clipped to it.
If we can all be aware of our costumes then we can all be more comfortable with the great people underneath.
Trick or Treat!
So …. Almost every civic organization has at one time or another sponsored a “haunted house.” You buy a ticket in a yard with some cardboard or foam tombstones planted in the yard and take you place in line. You are guided through in a line that is a bit crowded and meant to keep moving. Through a space where you can’t see the path ahead very clearly and flashes of light and sound create illusions designed to alter your sense of certainty and comfort. Oh wait that’s junior high. Seriously, sometimes life has these elements and the “haunted house” just reminds you that there are some threats to your comfort zone creeping around a lot of the corners ahead.
However, that’s not really the “haunting” being discussed here. One can dare to say that almost everyone has been in some part of a house or building and felt a strange feeling… heard a strange sound and seen some strange lights floating or some shadows lurking. Well… good news… these spaces are real. There is a very good chance you are hearing moans and capturing glowing objects. You see… Imost of us have heard of and experienced infrared and ultraviolet light in a controlled setting. What most of us don’t understand is that these are at the very edge of the visible spectrum of light and that because they happen in nature they can be impacted by other natural forces. Mirrors and prisms bend light and then it reflects off objects and bingo…reflected and reflected light bounces off a wall or dust fragments in strange combinations. Nature produces light in a spectrum thousands of times greater than the human eye receives and the human mind can process so it’s not a shock that we sometimes catch some recycled rays.
Sound is the same…. For example a whale emits sounds at frequencies we can hear, however, these sounds also radiate in frequencies far below the regular hearing range. Other things, like electrical resistors make sounds that cause vibrations that added together can create low hummming or even large humming. What changes the frequency of sounds? Well everything of course and sometimes these sound waves are “absorbed” for the most part but they also are reflected and rebounded until all their “sound producing” energy has dissipated. Again … back to that range of human capabilities again.
Then there a places in houses where you swear you feel a cool draft. Well those are ghosts…just get over it.
The Peace and Joy Connection?
It’s pretty usual to feel discomfort when you can sense changes just outside your regular range of feelin, seeeing/perception, and hearing or understanding. When we feel isolated it seems more likely that these things get a little freakier. So when getting ready to enter some new space it’s often helpful to hold someone else’s hand or listen closely to your own breath. Not everything you will experience can be explained immediately or in McLean language…just try describing the taste of chocolate. Try to remember that just because something is unexplained it doesn’t always need to be feared or remembered as scary… maybe it’s something we haven’t learned yet. …and things that go bump in the night? I left my shoes in the hallway agin darn. It!
Over the past few days events and experiences have sparked memories that conjured up some unpleasant visions and emotions. It is very difficult to keep these separate from things actually happening right now at times. In short, they are sort of working their way into my current narrative and turning regular life into “ghost” stories. IThis doesn’t seem like the time or place to relay a series of these stories I’m living with in the past few days, however, maybe it is necessary for my admission that what follows is easier said than felt and of course easier dthought about than done. Having said all that...
There are ghosts around us. In the memories we think about and in the objects that prompt the memories and then there are shouts that come sneaking up from the briefest of conversations or the subtlest smells. In seeking peace and joy it seems to work best if we ask these ghost directly to give up their lessons so that we can be a channel to share them either internally or with the world. People who write memoirs seem to have had a conversation or two with their ghosts and thus shed light on the narrative their ghosts would have them follow and the ways in which they took up the pen and changed the course of that narrative. There are countless examples of this, however, Ia recent podcast describing one such narrative mentioned an event happening in Rochester, NY that might shine some light on how a person meets with her ghosts and writes her story (see the link below).
A second way to wrestle with ghosts is to ask “does this ghost bring feelings of love or fear?” Memories that bring fear can be tough to brush aside, yet as Scrooge reminds us these ghosts are likely begging us to change, to experiment with something different, to scream for help sometime...
Other shorts are more like spiritual guides or angels... and while they may bring happy thoughts we must be aware that these ghosts are there to remind you of your goodness in times of doubt. They are. There to remind you of ove and curiousity.
There will always be ghosts and they will always be part of our stories... let us always try to find the lessons they offer and share the ones that help us focus on the gifts of today and the possibilities of sharing that instead of the fear.
Oh and like I said before a good example. Of how some people. Work together to write a new qghost story can be found by following the link below...
Next up... Haunted houses? God's Teardrop: My Journey of Healing from Addiction and Prostitution Book Discussion - MCLS Events & Programs - Monroe County Library System Home
Yesterday a post on a social media site that rhymes with space hook had a comment about the high price on some smallish straggling pumpkins at a local market. With the rising popularity of Halloween maybe people are grabbing up these seasonal spheres early? If you can’t find the type of “Just waiting to be Jack-o-lantern” may we suggest you go old school and turn to the turnip or proceed with a potato? You see the tradition of carving up innocent garden items started with these victims rather than the big orange gourds. The Irish started the tradition and only when Americans took up the tradition did pumpkins become the canvas of choice for this chopping of faces into fresh produce.
If you are a turnip you can probably relax, however potato’s in the US should plan on making a trip to the table with a detour through someone who says “do you want fries with that.” If you are one of the approximate 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkins grown in the United Sttes you are likely to headed for a Halloween display of some sort. Now there are some exceptions….Other popular destinations? Well fairy godmothers have a standing order for carriages and there are multiple pumpkins grown for contests. In fact, the new record pumpkin was found in a contest in Italy tipping the scales…dare we say “squashing” the scales at 2,702 pounds! Now that’s a great pumpkin Charlie Brown.
So what’s the “peace and joy” angle?
You see Americans switched to pumpkins because tha’s a food that not aloof people liked and it didn’t;t store as well as potato’s. People decided to use what was. Available rather than making a limited resource costly and something people might fight over or thatwealthy people might waste. Maybe when seeking. Peace. And joy we can turn to the experiences that are available rather than expecting some upcoming trip or gift we are going. To get as a. Source. Of peace. And. Joy? Maybe our present moments can be carved up into little moments of satisfaction,gratification,and smiles. Maybe our daily gifts can be used like a small candle to light the way of others seeking the fun sized blessings that days can hold? Well…that’s about it for today…It’s time to cut out some triangle eyes and figure out what kind of recipe once uses to make a pie with a 2,701 pound loser?
So a major retailer in our area has been running ads for Hallloween treats and other spoooky stuff. They said they had (leaving out brand names) candies in king size, full size, snack size, and fun size. I suspect it’s easy to understand “king” size as, of course this was determined by decree of King John right there in the fine print of the Magna Carta in 1215 and revised by several King Olaf declarations in Sweeden... so if we were to follow the logic here why aren’t the other sizes labeled like mattresses making candy king size, queen size, full size, twin, and perhaps infant size? So king size and “full size make some sense...but we have full size cars and then we have compact and subcompact so why don’t we have compact Snickers and subcompact Almond Joy? We all know what snack size is... it’s the size that we eat three of when we really need a snack. Surely one person’s snack is another person’s full size and only a nibble-like fun size for someone else and for that odd ant still surviving these days that snack is mother of a king sized banquets!
Now let’s look at “fun” size. So employers expect most workers to do king sized work for fun size wages. Dentists generally collect full size or king sized money for fun sized hole in our teeth and many politicians make super king-sized promises and generally deliver some crumbled. Up melted version of a fun-sized result that you have to scrape off the dash of your car because it got lost under the handful of campaign mail they send out.
Now let’s flip the script....
A lot of people preach seeking happiness and peace as if it is a King-Sized destination. It seems however, that seeking and experiencing peace and joy rarely comes in the super deluxe expected ways assumed by most self-help and success coaches. Maybe we need to savor the fun-sized experiences and experiments in life... really being aware that the moments are limited and temporary and yet the meanings can linger. Maybe if we buy into the fact that there will be enough fun-sized experience to share with everyone we will reach out and share our awareness in the moment rather than rushing to the next house where we believe king-sized peace. And joy are going to be dropped into our plastic pumpkin. Or pillow case. You know life happens in fun-sized moments...so share and enjoy.
Halloween “season” —and it seems it has grown into a season these days— has set upon us like a mist upon the graveyard. So…from today until then the blog will borrow spooky and mysterious themes. So when we think of witches, warlocks, and wizards we ponder the power of magic both real and imagined—or maybe it’s all imagined until we grant it our special ability to take an idea and create it’s reality? Anyway we’re going to get our bip-a dee bop-a dee on and do some peace and joy.
M….
Is for meaning….
Seeking Peace and Joy is linked to the process of binging meaning to experiences. Things happen both intentional and accidental, organized and random seemingly epic and mundane. We try to assign a cognitive and emotional definition to these experiences and some sort of spiritual interpretation to wrap this all up in. So meaning is at its core a dynamic process at as we create it. Strangely after a meaning is created initially. We rarely re-create it in the face of learning and future experiences. Once an experience has a meaning in a narrative we often call it a fact and maybe rob it of its beauty and power. We take most the magic out of it?
A….
Is forAwareness
Seeking peace and joy incorporates facing barriers of the mind. Unfortunately, all of us wrap our lives in thoughts and meanings based upon what once was,what might be,and the tangled web of coulda woulda. These things block the beauty of what is and what can be when focused upon the here and now. Using “magic” often relies upon directing the flow of things or becoming part of that flow. If we are not aware we separate out selves and others from the magical power of the spirit, the flow, the force. Become aware of the here and now and the magic can flow from our fingertips. Breathe and let the magic inspire us.
G…
Is for Generosity
We We are not talking about giving out the big candy bars—everybody knows who gives out the big candy bars at Halloween—always have and always will. No.. we are talking about the magic of sharing feelings and observations. We are talking about having the courage to say “this is why I say and do what I do…”. This is about being generous enough with your time to listen as other share thoughts and feelings about their experiences. Generosity. If not about “stuff”. There is. And always has been enough stuff to go around it’s about helping each other explore without fear to discover a purpose for existing and then pursuing that.
I ….
I is for Ideas
Seeking peace and joy is definitely an “idea thug. It’s gathering ideas, forming, ideas, sharing ideas, changing ideas, and letting some ideas go. Magic happens when we take a dip in the caldron of ideas knowing that in order to to come out with best ideas so very often is linked with having. And considering many ideas. The worst idea ever is often the only idea we have the courage to consider. That is… when. We only consider one possibility it can only be the best and worst idea we have had…. Seeeking peace. And joy becomes magic when our odds are better than 50/50. The power of our magic grows as we harness the the energy of ideas.
C…
C is for Connection
There is a sign seen from time to time that says “ a person wrapped up n themselves is a small package.” Well …. Magic (and seeking peace and joy) is not something that happens in a vacuum. It is a connection between. People, between nature and people, and between the greater spirit and people. If you want magic and signs of peace and joy look for and build connections.
Okay…it’s a couple weeks until the witching hour so this is enough enchanted dust for one day abracadabra amen
The first two things to know were….
4. There will be a father and daughter dance…No twerking in fact make sure you and your daughter have chosen it jointly. Don’t demand a Congo line the limbo, the Chicken dance or any of those dances that are really disguised exercise routines Ike the Cha Cha or Casper slide… Everybody can clap their hands later in the reception…but not during this precious duet…. And no pole dancing. During the dance there. Are a few things you should say. “You look great…the ceremony was perfect and wow how did you get so grown up are acceptable. You should avoid saying “hey I think you have a little cake right there on your cheek or Hey your new hubby does have a nice butt.’
Tip number Five
You will be asked to give a toast. Now if you are good at dad jokes you can pull out one but only one. Do not make fun of anyone either at the rehearsal dinner or the wedding reception with your words. There are a lot of good toasts on the web but be careful. Avoid Andrew Dice clay.com or Rodney Dangerfield’s love potions. Pledge your support for the marriage and try to get the crowd engaged and remind them that the new couple needs support or that you will support them all along the way. Keep your toast short—after all it didn’t take. That long for you to conceive your children now did it.
Now just some odds and ends…
If it’s a Catholic Wedding and you are hungry. Or thirsty… do not take a handful of hosts or grab the challahs and slam it back. When the minister or officiant says. Who gives this bride or asks if anyone would speak up to why these folks shouldn’t be united don’t smart off. Don’t ask to see the groom’s credit score or a recent check stub. Make sure somebody has the rings… Onion rings are. Not an acceptable alternative. You can have a release of doves at the wedding but don’t substitute pheasant and have the men folk see if they can bag their limit. If you are not married and there is a “guarded belt toss… “. Don’t suggest a undergarment for hole game instead.
Finally Dad… it’s okay if you cry… these are tears of joy because in spite of your parenting your daughter made it to a cool point in life. Which brings us full circle … go back to the top and look at tip one approach today with gratitude and if it works for the wedding day try it every other day too….
Congrats Caleb and Amanda
