October 31- Samhain – Sunset of Summer

“There is a privacy about it which no other season gives you…. In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself.”
– Ruth Stout

Samhain is upon us- the official sunset of summer. All Hallows Eve marks the return of winter, a time of sweet slumber for the earth to knit new greenery and growth for spring.  This holiday has been marked for thousands of years by hundreds of cultures and in many ways.  Bonfires and community gatherings were prevalent well before our modern celebration of costumes and candy. 

Halloween encourages us to show a little abandon and frivolity before the onset of winter.  The cold season before us is a time of slow down and for many, a time of solitude.  We prefer to hunker down in the warmth of home instead of making merry with friends. A musician’s work may slow down outdoor summer playing opportunities wind down.  The world seems to operate at a slower pace for most, and it is indeed this slower pace and solitude that is a fertile breeding ground for new ideas, tactics and plans.

Samhain is the perfect time to start a winter journal.  The snap of winter mornings are conducive to sitting for a few minutes with a mug of something warm and a winter journal to plan your new steps to creativity, growth and development.  Over the next few months, journal with wild abandon your innovative ideas to write, paint or play creatively. Develop a space in time or a space in your home devoted to art and dreams. 

Over the next few months, the world will be a quieter place. There is an opportunity, in these months, to start over, to discover a new plan for the spring, to work in solitude with a clean slate.  The Sunset of Summer is another chance at a new beginnings.  Feel the rhythm of the earth as she nestles in to prepare another spring and birth a bevy of new blooms and blossoms. Set aside time the next few months to create a spring of your own making.

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