Tag Archives: my writing

December 7, 2015 · 5:08 pm

Love actually IS all around us……..

christmas-candle-douglas-pulsipherMerry Meet my friends.  I have been very remiss about writing in my blog.  I have been very busy…as we all are this time of year!  I will be here more often now for a couple of reasons I’ll fill you in about in a moment.  First, I wanted to say that I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving, for those who celebrate it.  I know I did. I had 14 here at my house for a wonderful meal that was enjoyed by all.  It was a relaxing day with good food and good company and we all were sure to be grateful for all the good things in our life.  I hope it was the same for you and yours!

Now we are rapidly heading towards the Winter Solstice and holidays.  As I’ve said many times, the Wheel seems to spin faster and faster as I get older!  I’ve been more housebound lately due to various reasons (which I’m enjoying!) so I’m shopping online (so much better than fighting crowds)  have decorated the house, set up my Solstice Altar, and enjoying some quiet time reading by the fire, relaxing and nesting in as Winter comes.   After all, Winter is my 2nd favorite season and I look forward to it!

A bit of news, for those of you who have been reading Samhain’s Sirens in October and The Sunday Stew every Sunday.  I’m sorry to tell you that both are no more.  The Stew will finish up to the end of the year and Samhain’s Sirens finished at Samhain this year.  I will miss being a writer and a reader for both publications.  The founder, Kallan Kennedy, has decided to move on to other projects, which I totally understand!  The good news for me…I will have more time for my own writing.  Both here on my blog, and for a project I’m seriously considering…writing my own cookbook, based on the Sabbats.  What do you think of that idea?  My most popular blog posts have always been the ones about the Sabbats and recipes for the Sabbats…I thought, why not make them into a book?  LOL…that’s the plan anyway.

So, to get serious for a bit.  There has been much to despair about in our world today.  Mass shootings are on the rise.  Politics and religion are causing many arguments and chaos.  Many of us are scared to go out of our homes. Many of us are fleeing social networks to avoid the negativity, squabbling and downright nastiness we see in our newsfeeds these days.  Let me tell you, I have been nesting so have backed off anyway, but I too,  have been protecting my psyche by staying away more.  When I do go to Facebook for instance, I do my best to be cheerful, spread kindness and love, and be a positive place where people can think of something else besides the big, scary world. But even I have posted about the hate I see in this world…much of it in the name of religion.  And I don’t just mean the terrorists..I mean people hating on other races and religions, conservatives vs liberals, christians vs  well…you get the idea.  Of course not everyone is spewing hatred.  This is what I want to talk about.

I like to say in I live in a happy little bubble of a Life.  It’s not that I live with my head stuck in the ground, but that I do my best not to let things come into my Life that I don’t want there.  I’m aware of the news, but don’t stay glued to the tv for hours on end.  I don’t feel the need to go to Facebook or Twitter and spew my opinion to everybody.  I will often as simply for Prayers for whatever city, country, people need it, express my sorrow and then try to find something happy and peaceful to say and do.  I have many social friends who are the same.

The movie “Love Actually” is one of my all-time favorite movies.  There is such a moral lesson to be learned in that movie.  My daughter and I watched it a few days ago again and ever since, I have thought about writing something about it here.  If you’ve never seen it..do!  At the beginning of the movie, the narrator talks about love while scenes at an airport are showing on the screen. Yes..an airport.  Over and over it shows people being greeted from the plane with open arms, smiles, hugs, tears and love.  It makes me cry every time I watch it. There is something about seeing people with their arms around each other that just melts me.  The song “Love is all around us” plays a part throughout the movie as well.  At the end, of the narration he says (it’s Hugh Grant by the way, who is yummy)  “Love actually is all around us”.   *watch the video for yourself!*

 

 

 

Think about that statement.  We all are very focused on what’s wrong with humans these days.  But I believe that we all want Love.  We seek Love,  We give Love.  We are capable of great Love to others.  It’s easy to love our families (most of the time lol) our friends, our community.  We see it over and over when there’s been a tragedy. There are helping hands readily available, heroes who risk their own lives to save others, people rushing towards instead of running from….to help.  To love.

Even the worse person you can think of, someone you may even find to be evil,  probably still loves someone. Nobody can go through life not loving somebody.  I think on this when I feel myself getting discouraged from the hate, chaos, dissension, and cruelty I see daily.  I believe we all are here, no matter your religious path…to love and be loved.

I do my best to seek those who spread love.  I do my best not to worry about being scared. I do my best to avoid hatred. I do my best not to state my opinion to others in a way that great offense can be taken.  I strive to be loving and kind. None of us are perfect…we all fail at this from time to time. But if we look, if we give what we’d like to receive, we can accomplish so much as a people.  This includes loving those who are in great need, loving Mother Earth and caring for Her…Her animals, Air, Oceans, and all the She gives us. Being accepting of other religions.  Trying to understand those we don’t understand.  and please understand me, I too find it difficult to understand anyone..I mean anyone..who can take the life of another person or an animal in anyway.  I’m not saying we have to love them…but we have to find a way for it to stop happening.

Love Actually IS all around us if we seek it, give it and spread it around.  Only Love towards one another will help to heal the wounds people give to one another.  It starts with each of us.  Be kind…treat others as you want them to treat you.  Avoid the people you are no way able to do this with..because believe me, I know that there are some people who are un-lovable to me.  But keep in mind, they are lovable to someone else.  I just let them go..I don’t harbor hatred towards them..I just let it go.  If you want to see love easily, try going to the airport and watching the departures and arrivals.  That will open your eyes and warm your heart! And really, watch the movie “Love Actually”…you’ll love it!

I hope that the holidays and the upcoming Winter Solstice are a time of Peace and Love for us all.  I pray to the Goddess that you and yours stay safe in your own happy little bubbles!  I’ll be back soon with another post, Yule recipes and to talk about some favorite books I’ve been reading lately.  Blessed Be my friends…May Goddess bless you all! ❤

 

Love and Blessings,

Autumn

 

 

 

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Filed under Discussion, Family, Friends, Goddess, Gratitude, Holiday, Mother Earth, Movies, Music, My Writing, Sabbat, Seasons, Thanksgiving, Uncategorized, Winter, Yule/Winter Solstice/Chrismas

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November 12, 2011 · 10:35 pm

My Smoky Mountains…….

Merry Meet everyone.  Hope all is well in your world and that you are still enjoying a beautiful Autumn weather.  I have just returned from a short 4 day trip to the Smoky Mountains.  It was a girl trip..went with my daugher Sara, my sister Sunny and a friend Shawna.  We have gone to the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area for years..a couple times a year at least.  I LOVE going there and know it pretty well.  Now I’m a girl and I love shopping as much as the next one, and places to shop are abundant there….but for me, it is all about seeing those mountains and spending time in them, enjoying what they have to offer…which is pure beauty in nature!

 

“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.”

 ~John Burroughs

 

This quote  puts into words exactly how I feel when I first see those mountains, as I’m going south on I-75 from Kentucky into Tennessee.  The minute they come into view my heart just soars and my soul lets out a huge *sigh* of contentment…and recognition.  There is something ingrained in me that makes me feel at home there.  I often think it may be that my maternal grandfather was half Cherokee..my great grandfather coming from those mountains.  Maybe it is just that my soul knows how connected I am to nature and the beauty that is found here.  The trees, flowers, animals, and streams that thrive and survive there, are all connected to the Divine..as am I. 

 

“If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive.”

~Eleonora Duse

 

I love seeing the mountains in the different seasons.  All of them are beautiful there.  I have seen snow clinging on the top of the mountains with the black shadows of the leafless trees pointing to the sky majestically and the frozen streams.  I have seen the greening of those trees in the Spring, with purple and white wildflowers covering the ground, and the streams flowing with cold, icy water as the snow melts.  I’ve seen full, leafy, green trees with the dappled sunlight hitting the forest floor, animals scurrying about and the streams filled with people cooling off.  My favorite season, Autumn..trees Glorious with reds, yellows, rusts and browns, the ground covered with the fallen leaves and still, the water ever flowing in the streams.  And always, always, the smoky mists that envelop the mountains, during all the seasons, that give them their name…that make them so magickal at any time of day! 

 

“To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter; to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring – these are some of the rewards of the simple life.”

 ~John Burrough

 

As a Witch, I find the elements in abundance in the mountains.  I can call them to me easily and they respond immediately. Earth, Air, Fire and Water..yes, I find Fire there as well, in the flame red of the leaves and berries, the heat from the Sun during the Summer, the glare off the snow, and in the warmth of the wind as Winter gives way to Spring.  I find magick in my mountains..always!  The Divine is there is well.  Nature is my church…always. The Full Moon over the mountains….A sight that everyone should see at least once!  Magnificent!!

“A wise man can do no better than to turn from the churches and look up through the airy majesty of the wayside trees with exultation, with resignation, at the unconquerable unimplicated sun.”

 ~Llewelyn Powys, The Pathetic Fallacy

While I was there, I visited one of my favorite stores..The Rock Shop.  As I was buying up crystals & stones, I came across a display of Tennesse Mountain Jasper.  Both polished stones and in large natural untouched chunks.  They look exactly like the rocky walls found in the mountains..quite recognizable.  I bought a nice piece both for myself and my two daughters.  This piece of stone will help me to keep those beautiful mountains, and that sense of peace and contentment I feel there…with me at all times.  *sigh* 🙂

“There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks. Most of the time we are simply not patient enough, quiet enough to pay attention to the story.”

~Linda Hogan

Those Smoky Mountains have stories to tell, and I do my best to listen to them. Wherever you go in Nature, to feel the Divine, to commune with Mother Earth, to calm yourself, to let out a big sigh of contentment…go there!  Often!!  It’ll do your heart, body and soul good.  Another thing that will do you some good?  If and whenever you get the chance, get a hug from a facebook friend, Do It!  I was blessed enough to get to do that on this trip..with TWO friends….. and I am so happy that I did!  Hugs Cynthia and Angelique!!  It reinforces that our facebook friends are real indeed and that hearts DO touch across the miles and thru the internet 🙂 

Blessings and Love, Autumn

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September 20, 2011 · 10:07 pm

The Sea Witch…….

The Sea Witch

 The Sea Witch watches the Sunset from the beach…vivid oranges and pinks to deep purples and dark blues..and finally darkness.  As she stands with her feet in the warm current of the ocean, the sand slipping away from under her bare feet,  she quietly observes  the Full Moon rise up and over the blue-black water of the ocean.  It is the Harvest Moon….deep red, then warm orange,  pale yellow, then bright white as She rises majestically in the star filled sky.  She lights a candle and  casts a circle.  Pulling crystals from her pocket, she buries them in the sand with quiet words spoken from the heart.  She calls forth the elements, all four right there with her…Earth, Air, Fire and Water.  Then invoking the Goddess, asking Her to attend, to lead, to love her thru her ritual. She feels Her near…

  The Sea Witch raises her arms to the sky to draw in the energy from the Moon Goddess.   Beneath her feet, she feels the earth moving, warm water lapping,  soft breeze caressing, the flame of the candle flickering… and the tingling  and warmth  in her body, heart and soul as she connects with her Goddess, feels the  energy, strong and sure,  coursing through her.  Both calming and exhilarating, joy and peace fills her as the energy builds within her.  She wants to laugh and she wants to cry, and the beauty of the moment engraves itself on her mind and heart forever. She sinks into the sand to rest, to ground and center, to have a glass of wine.  She pours some of the wine into the ground as an offering. 

Taking a few more minutes to meditate, the sound of the ocean soothing  her, the bright light of the Moon shining on the white sand, the scents swirling around her..the Sea Witch  thanks the Goddess for the blessings in her life.  She thanks the elements for their attendance, takes down her circle, and snuffs the flame of the candle.  With renewed energy and feeling very blessed, she goes back to her loved ones…… who wait.

 

 

Blessed Be….Autumn

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