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First two quick public service announcements:
1)Shakespeare in the Park at 7, "Much Ado About Nothing", bring a blanket and meet at my place at 5:30 if you want to do dinner beforehand.
2)Next week is a Friday the 13th and as per usual there's a nighttime flashlight tour of the Winchester House. Anybody game?
Today I start seriously planning some rituals for the upcoming Sabbats, additionally I think I've decided to do a spirit quest over the Thanksgiving holiday. I'd like to figure out exactly how I want to approach this. It will contain some classic elements, fasting, meditating, nature, but beyond that I'm not sure. Pondering.
Mabon, for those unacquainted with Wiccan beliefs, is the second harvest and our version of "Thanksgiving", just as Samhain is our version of "New Years". It's a time to recognize that every life eventually ends. The world readies itself for winter and the days grow shorter and colder. It's a quiet and introspective time and a time where one pauses to think about all the events that have happened over the course of the year. It's also a time for offering up thanks.
That got me to thinking, what should I thank the Powers That Be for this year? So I've started a mental list:
1)![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
h0h0's health and happiness. Seeing him return to life after the horrors of last year has been an incredible miracle. This isn't to say he's cured or that his life is perfect, but just to have one again, to have plans for the future, to look at life as a pleasure again...well, I'm ridiculously grateful for that.
2)My friends. So many people have filled my life with such joy, love, and caring this year. I know I sometimes get caught up in dwelling on the things and people I've lost but that doesn't for a moment mean I don't recognize and appreciate all the wonderful people who have stuck by me. It boggles my mind sometimes to think how lucky I am in this regard.
3)My family. Though they're 3,000 miles away we keep in touch every week and I'm finally in a place financially where I can go to visit them rather than always making them come to me. I'm looking forward to some real time with all of them again this Xmas.
4)My job. I love it. I'm good at it, it's fun, I'm appreciated and encouraged...and, well I get to play games all day, what more could a girl ask for?
5)Dancing. What an unexpected and amazing blessing it's been to have this creative outlet come into my life. I literally can't imagine a time in my life where I won't want to dance. It brings me such happiness and a great sense of accomplishment and I'm very grateful to those who have also fallen in love with it, having someone to talk to about it is a great gift too.
6)My home. For all its flaws and inadquacies we've been there for just over a month and it now feels not like "a house" rather like "our home". Having a wonderful roommate and a delightful cat has made it all the better, even better than I'd ever dared hope. I suppose my bad apartment karma is balanced out by my good house karma *G*
7)My art. Returning to drawing this year was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I must thankcrobderg for inspiring me to sit down and draw again and for patiently allowing me to sketch him. Yay models! And another thanks to mister_sunshine for his original kind words on my own scribblings, and his continued inspiration. Creative people make me want to be more creative myself, and the more creative I am the happier.
8)My religion. Having a deep well of faith upon which to draw in both good times and bad is a precious thing. I lost touch with my faith to some degree in the past year and with it I lost a great deal of my hope and joy in life. It was a dark time, but the gods are patient with we flawed mortals and they waited for me to come back to them.
9)My garden. Good lord I've missed green growing things, plunging my hands into rich, warm earth, enjoying the fruits of my labor. The strawberry I picked and age from my own crops this morning was the sweetest, juiciest fruit I've ever tasted. It made me not only happy, but proud, it was my care and work that brought it about. If nothing else that made it taste even better.
10)And finally, love. I'm so profoundly grateful for having experienced it for the first time in my life after I moved out here. I had begun to despair that I was incapable of the emotion only to have it creep up and yell, "Surprise!" at the most unexpected moment. Regardless of the outcome I deeply appreciate the experience, it quite literally changed my life, in many ways (I hope) for the better. Seeing others experience it, relish it, and cherish it all around me is another gift. So many happy couples, beautiful weddings and new beginnings give me such incredible hope I don't even know how to express it.
So that's my starter list, I could probably come up with more and I should probably take the time to thank each friend who's made my life so much more complete, but I think it's a good beginning.
Crunches: 90
Rituals to plot: 3
1)Shakespeare in the Park at 7, "Much Ado About Nothing", bring a blanket and meet at my place at 5:30 if you want to do dinner beforehand.
2)Next week is a Friday the 13th and as per usual there's a nighttime flashlight tour of the Winchester House. Anybody game?
Today I start seriously planning some rituals for the upcoming Sabbats, additionally I think I've decided to do a spirit quest over the Thanksgiving holiday. I'd like to figure out exactly how I want to approach this. It will contain some classic elements, fasting, meditating, nature, but beyond that I'm not sure. Pondering.
Mabon, for those unacquainted with Wiccan beliefs, is the second harvest and our version of "Thanksgiving", just as Samhain is our version of "New Years". It's a time to recognize that every life eventually ends. The world readies itself for winter and the days grow shorter and colder. It's a quiet and introspective time and a time where one pauses to think about all the events that have happened over the course of the year. It's also a time for offering up thanks.
That got me to thinking, what should I thank the Powers That Be for this year? So I've started a mental list:
1)
h0h0's health and happiness. Seeing him return to life after the horrors of last year has been an incredible miracle. This isn't to say he's cured or that his life is perfect, but just to have one again, to have plans for the future, to look at life as a pleasure again...well, I'm ridiculously grateful for that.2)My friends. So many people have filled my life with such joy, love, and caring this year. I know I sometimes get caught up in dwelling on the things and people I've lost but that doesn't for a moment mean I don't recognize and appreciate all the wonderful people who have stuck by me. It boggles my mind sometimes to think how lucky I am in this regard.
3)My family. Though they're 3,000 miles away we keep in touch every week and I'm finally in a place financially where I can go to visit them rather than always making them come to me. I'm looking forward to some real time with all of them again this Xmas.
4)My job. I love it. I'm good at it, it's fun, I'm appreciated and encouraged...and, well I get to play games all day, what more could a girl ask for?
5)Dancing. What an unexpected and amazing blessing it's been to have this creative outlet come into my life. I literally can't imagine a time in my life where I won't want to dance. It brings me such happiness and a great sense of accomplishment and I'm very grateful to those who have also fallen in love with it, having someone to talk to about it is a great gift too.
6)My home. For all its flaws and inadquacies we've been there for just over a month and it now feels not like "a house" rather like "our home". Having a wonderful roommate and a delightful cat has made it all the better, even better than I'd ever dared hope. I suppose my bad apartment karma is balanced out by my good house karma *G*
7)My art. Returning to drawing this year was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I must thank
crobderg for inspiring me to sit down and draw again and for patiently allowing me to sketch him. Yay models! And another thanks to mister_sunshine for his original kind words on my own scribblings, and his continued inspiration. Creative people make me want to be more creative myself, and the more creative I am the happier.8)My religion. Having a deep well of faith upon which to draw in both good times and bad is a precious thing. I lost touch with my faith to some degree in the past year and with it I lost a great deal of my hope and joy in life. It was a dark time, but the gods are patient with we flawed mortals and they waited for me to come back to them.
9)My garden. Good lord I've missed green growing things, plunging my hands into rich, warm earth, enjoying the fruits of my labor. The strawberry I picked and age from my own crops this morning was the sweetest, juiciest fruit I've ever tasted. It made me not only happy, but proud, it was my care and work that brought it about. If nothing else that made it taste even better.
10)And finally, love. I'm so profoundly grateful for having experienced it for the first time in my life after I moved out here. I had begun to despair that I was incapable of the emotion only to have it creep up and yell, "Surprise!" at the most unexpected moment. Regardless of the outcome I deeply appreciate the experience, it quite literally changed my life, in many ways (I hope) for the better. Seeing others experience it, relish it, and cherish it all around me is another gift. So many happy couples, beautiful weddings and new beginnings give me such incredible hope I don't even know how to express it.
So that's my starter list, I could probably come up with more and I should probably take the time to thank each friend who's made my life so much more complete, but I think it's a good beginning.
Crunches: 90
Rituals to plot: 3
