What is left undone?

The holes in the wall

play the flute

     this autumn evening.

issa

The wind swirls leaves up and down the street in one last dance before winter. The grapes are being harvested, winter has begun its icy whisper. Autumn is a time of gathering and a time of reflection. As the change of seasons turn us within the ancestors draw near. In Mexico this is celebrated as dia los Muertos, the day of the dead. The Jewish culture enters this season with Rosh Hashanah, which begins a 10 day period of self-reflection ending in Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, where we make amends for the passing year’s transgressions.

This season offers an opportunity to become intimate with ourselves and our world, to prepare for the dark days of winter so that, rather than feeling scary and dreaded, they can feel deep, mysterious and mystical. We are all human and, if we are being honest with ourselves, we all trip and fall short of our ideals. But reflection need not include self-shaming. Shame has its value in alerting us to something that needs looking into but beyond that it becomes a toxin.

Surrounded by the ancestors, their rough edges sanded off by death and trials, stripped bare down to the love at their core, let go of judgement. Wrap yourself in a blanket, pour a pot of tea and join me in reflecting:

What do you see when you look at your life right now?

What is left undone from the passing year?

What debts need repaying?

What has been completed?

What needs completing?

What can you set right before the end of the year?