Autumn Energy

Autumn 2School starts August 31st. That’s next Wednesday. Today’s post was going to be about how it’s a man’s world and all the different things that speak to the patriarchal society we live in, but then I took my boys to school.  Today is the day they pick up their class schedules, pay sports fees, and have class pictures taken.

As we drove to the school, my boys chattered excitedly in the back of the car. They talked about teachers at the school and wondered who they were going to get, and would Aidan get into the high academy (translation: upper level math) for math class this year. This is Ahren’s first year in middle school so he’s a little nervous about having different teachers for different classes, having to change classrooms, and super excited about having a locker. We saw orchard workers heading to the next job, straddle carriers filled with apples, people pushing babies in strollers, dog-walkers, the occasional jogger, and of course, parents and children filled the school parking lot.  The kids all excited and bouncing around their parents, dressed for school photos, and pulling on their mom’s hand when she wasn’t walking quite fast enough to suit them.

It struck me that this is what I wanted to share with you: the energy of autumn.

Oh sure, seasons change every couple of months, but for me the transition from summer into fall has always been my favorite.  The light is harsher, the shadows are sharper, the air is crisper and there’s an undercurrent of energy.  I feel the urge to nest, to clean and clear out my home because I know soon the snow will come and we’ll be spending most of our time inside. To me this time of transition feels like I’ve made it through the hustle and bustle of summer, through the business of trying to spend every moment I can with my children and make the summer enjoyable and memorable for them while working full time, and now finally things will go back to routine. Back to school, and sports, and trying to take advantage of every beautiful day and evening before the weather becomes too harsh to be outside.

I love the fashion of fall – the sweaters and boots and leggings. I love the food of fall – the soups and squashes. I love fall mums and asters and the colors of the trees. I love the way the sunshines and creates sharper shadows.  I love it so much I wrote about fall in my (hopefully) soon to be published novel, The Between. My protagonist, Alex, is meeting with her counselor, Michael, and discussing one of the ways she “knows” things.

“Have you noticed how Autumn shadows are different than any other?  They’re so distinct, so crisp and clear.  Summer shadows are faded and fuzzy, the light is too strong everywhere to really give good lines.  Winter shadows are barely there, hardly enough light to give them life.  Spring shadows are just coming out, tentatively checking, making brief appearances, never lingering.  But Autumn shadows… Autumn shadows are ready to be seen.”

“They make the shapes that cut sharply against that which they are placed.  Distinct lines and shapes of shade.  Shapes of things caught between the light and shadow. The shadows not only press into the fabric of what they lay against, but pull the color from it.  I see it in the trees – fiery leaves on the limbs, but dark shadows making patterns on a building. Soon they’ll surrender and fall with the wind. I see it in the limbs after the leaves, the stark, naked lines projecting an often unseen and seemingly senseless net across a paved road. I see it in the slanted shadow of a fence post, rippled and punctuated by grass moving with the breeze. I see all this. It’s nature trying to help us, guide us, steer us.”

discount levitra This is so because it has attracted people because of the inappropriate flow of blood. Diet and foods – Foods like fruits, leafy vegetables, chocolate, coffee, lean red meat and some herbs are very much helpful for curing the problem of extreme fatigue due like it order generic viagra to excessive hand practice. Hence, it is extremely cialis for sale online important that you opt for a course where you will get to opt for this course, you will get aware of the different treatments that a doctor can offer include various medications. Inject into the urethra (Muse system) Drug is injected about viagra 100mg tablet an inch deep into the urethra. “I try to share it, but I’m usually unsuccessful in explaining the amazing ability nature. Of the light and the dark existing simultaneously. Not partially, not just a bit, but fully and completely. Existing not despite of, but because of each other.

Michael shifts in his chair, I think he’s more intrigued as his initial surprise subsides.

Sitting up I look at him. “I believe it is this ability that allows Nature to see both sides of us. To see the good and the bad, and all the million shades of grey that exists in between. To see us for who we are, what we want, and where we ‘should’ go.”

Autumn 1

There’s an energy to fall that doesn’t exist at any other time. It’s my vibe and this week I invite you all to share it with me.  Be aware of the crispness of the air, the cozy foods, the warm sunlight and how it cuts shadows a little cleaner. Mostly I invite you to feel the energy of fall.  Stop a moment and close your eyes, quiet your mind and feel that undercurrent of energy and let it fill you.  To me it feels like a subtle energy designed to help us regroup and recharge, and emerge new again when it’s time.  Can you feel it too?

Autumn 3

My thoughts are my own, but my pictures are generally found on Pinterest (you can find anything there!). If you like what I write, please share with your friends or someone you think would like it! I’d love it if you follow me on Facebook (Melissa Gale), Instagram (write2unpack), or Twitter (@write2unpack). Oh, hey, and if you sign up here to follow me you’ll never miss a post!

The Trauma of Losing Teeth

Teeth 1“It’s just a loose tooth! You’re 12! This is not the first tooth you’ve lost!”

Yes, that’s me being mom-of-the-year to my 12 year old. He has a loose baby tooth (a molar) and the permanent tooth is growing in over the top of it and pushing the baby tooth to the inside of his mouth. Now, to me, it’s simple: 1. The new tooth is coming in; 2. The baby tooth is loose; 3. The baby tooth needs to come out. To the 12 year old it’s not that simple… there was wailing, waving of hands, tears, and groaning – and that’s before he would even let me look at it.

That got me to thinking: why is it a bigger deal to him than I think is necessary? I mean, I have an intense dislike for any sort of mouth pain (years of braces and a one-time trip to a bad dentist have created that), but it’s just a baby tooth, right? Wrong. There’s something more primal, more instinctual, to losing a tooth. That’s how today’s post inspiration found me.

I did a quick Google search about the origin of the phrase, “like pulling teeth” and didn’t really get any solid answers. Oh, sure, there were old quotes that may have been the origin, but all the sites I found seemed to agree that “like pulling teeth” meant a process that is painful, difficult, and unwanted.

Dreams 10

There are several dream interpretations for losing teeth:

Fear: Until late 20th century/early 21st century it was common to interpret a dream about losing teeth as a fear of losing a family member. More recently it’s changed to signify a fear of aging and the lack of control of one’s own aging process.

Fear 11Anxiety: When people dream of losing teeth it can mean they’re anxious. According to some studies a dream about losing your teeth can indicate anxiety and lack of control over your circumstances.
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Personal Loss:  People often dream about losing teeth during times of transition such as having to face a situation where you have to make a difficult choice. The symbolism of losing teeth in a dream can serve to make you aware of something you’re giving up or feel like you’re losing in real life.

Change: A dream of losing teeth or a tooth can indicate that you feel like you are letting go of something important, or leaving something important behind.  Losing baby teeth is an outward and obvious signal that my son is changing from a child into a teen/young adult.

After sitting and thinking about it I realized even though I don’t share in my son’s fear and anxiety of losing his tooth, I understand it. Losing something, even when it’s causing you pain, is something we all resist.

Having come to that realization, The Best Husband and I have given him through the end of today to try and wiggle it out and then we’re taking him to the dentist. We’ll pay someone more than $100 to do what he, and we, should have been able to accomplish.  But there again real life and childhood trauma cross paths: sometimes we are lacking the right tools to help ourselves, and need to seek the expertise of someone trained to help us.

Whether you believe in the symbolism of dreams, or the reality of childhood fear, this week I ask that you simply be aware of other people’s feelings. Recognize that people may feel differently than you, but we all share the feelings of fear, anxiety, and loss.

Same

My thoughts are my own, but my pictures are generally found on Pinterest (you can find anything there!). If you like what I write, please share with your friends or someone you think would like it! I’d love it if you follow me on Facebook (Melissa Gale), Instagram (write2unpack), or Twitter (@write2unpack). Oh, hey, and if you sign up here to follow me you’ll never miss a post!

The Bottom of a Wishing Well

 

Wishing well 8“What’s at the bottom of wishing wells?” This is the thought that has been circling around in my head since last weekend.  I’m not sure why, but I know enough to pay attention to those things that keep finding you. So today’s post is about wishing wells.

Have you ever wondered what’s at the bottom of a wishing well? Is it the entrance to a magical world?  A water filled tunnel to certain death? Are there spirits there that seek to help? To harm? Or is it just rock and dirt and water?

Wishing wells are everywhere in our culture.  Back before filters and indoor plumbing they were a reliable source of clean water. Towns were built around the wells. It was believed that spirits dwelled in and around them to protect the clean water. Wells, and water sources like the head of a river, were believed to be entrances to the underworld. People would offer coins, trinkets like buttons or beads, or bits of pottery as they passed with the hope that the spirit attached to the well would be pleased and grant them their wish.

Wishing wells are in music. Five For Fighting wrote a song called “Devil in the Wishing Well.” It’s a song about a man who struggles with depression or addiction, and is told that the devil’s at the bottom of the hole he’s in (the wishing well) and he’s going to have to give him something good in order to get out.  He cuts out part of his heart and offers that to the devil as a form of payment. Although pretty gruesome, it is another example of the belief and hope people put in wishing wells.

Wishing well 1Wishing wells are in movies. One of my favorite movies from the 80’s is The Goonies.  (You can find it on Amazon here) If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend you do so.  It’s about a group of kids trying to save their town from developers who want to tear it down and build a golf course. In order to save it they have to find a lost pirate ship and its treasure. On their journey they end up trapped in an underground tunnel and eventually find the bottom of the local wishing well.  They can ride the bucket up to the top, but then they give up on their dream.  Well, that wouldn’t make a very good movie, so of course they continue on.

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Wishing well 9

This is “Dream Lake.” At its deepest point it’s only about 18″ deep. Photo credit, A.D. Wheeler, “The Explorographer.”

Wishing wells really exist and are still visited today. Luray Caverns in Verginia is an amazing set of mirror smooth pools, breathtaking stalactites and stalagmites, and a beautiful reflecting pool where people stop to toss in a coin and make a wish.  The water is so still, and the air so pure that they actually used to pipe in the air into a local tuberculosis hospital,L imair Sanatorium, believing that the purity of the air and it’s “perfect bacteriologic purity” would benefit their patients. The sanatorium is long gone, but the caverns and the wishing well remain.

"Luray Caverns, Luray, Virginia"

“Luray Caverns, Luray, Virginia” Photo credit, A.D. Wheeler, “The Explorographer.”

So what’s at the bottom of a wishing well? Whether it’s a spirit you want to please so they grant your wish, or a misunderstood devil demanding payment, other people’s dreams, or a magical cure for tuberculosis, I think the answer is obvious – it’s hope. Hope is at the bottom of every wishing well.

Hope

My thoughts are my own, but my pictures are generally found on Pinterest (you can find anything there!). If you like what I write, please share with your friends or someone you think would like it! I’d love it if you follow me on Facebook (Melissa Gale), Instagram (write2unpack), or Twitter (@write2unpack). Oh, hey, and if you sign up here to follow me you’ll never miss a post!