Ah, Autumn!

Vermont View
5x8 Water Soluble Pencil
©BEDeuel/Bronson Hill Arts



Autumn is here, officially and literally. It is a very wonderful time of the year in this part of the world, upstate New York.

While Earth’s outdoor residents are scurrying to prepare for cold, nasty weather and snow galore, it seems that this is the season that gives the rest of us the right to unwind and relax.

The yard is as trimmed and prettied as best it will be for the year. The weather breaks in such a way that pleasant activities are easier to enjoy without the heat and humidity. The colors are startlingly beautiful. The holidays haven’t started their demands on our time or finances yet.

Yep, it is a wonderful time of the year.

Autumn inspires creativity of the mind and the hands. It can be needlework, photography, artwork, writing letters, kitchen magic, anything! It can also simply invite you to curl up next to loved ones and dive into a book or ten.

The hope is as always that everyone takes the time to indulge their bliss. My hope is that this is the season that makes it possible for you!

Happy Autumn!

Chaos

Grey Gold

 A theme often touched upon in this blog is learning to accept giving ourselves some slack in our lives. When there are so many details in your world that seem to need tending, a loss of enjoyment of your life can follow.

So, while allowing the little things slide so as indulge ourselves in the bigger and better aspects of our lives is tricky, learning to deal with the onslaught of chaos is an entirely different situation. And, much more difficult to tame.

Chaos can be induced by something as minor as a head cold, or as major as losing a job. The hassle of rearranging a week of activities and obligations can be overwhelming; fortunately, the possible off-putting of events for a week can help us to avoid having to do too much maneuvering immediately. Chaos can be ignored sometimes and, often, we are better to just do so.

But, when it is something as encompassing as loss of a job, a career, an income, the chaos that ensues can be overwhelming. A reevaluation of an entire lifestyle doesn’t come simply, nor is it something that can be pushed away in the hope that delay will make the chaos disappear.

The idea of just offering it up to the Universe begs the issue of bringing our lives back into a livable state. The tricky part of chaos descending is that it is like a violent, churning ocean storm in which you are caught without a usable vessel: you are not only treading water to stay afloat, but know that you need to be swimming toward shore before the waves overtake you. The shore is order, land under our feet the necessary control. The Universe may wash you onto the sand, but without your contribution of effort, the odds decrease significantly.

There are times when it seems like an entire front of chaos blows across your shoreline, tossing a new storm over your haven constantly, ripping the plywood you’ve just affixed for safety, off, in a single puff.

Other Side of the Door

Yep.

Been that way for a while now. Still have no system to bring chaos into line; still dealing with each crisis, unexpected expense, loss, illness, etc., at a time. Sometimes it’s relatively clear what needs to be done to move out of the storm. Other times, there is no obvious solution; or worse, any solution that you can implement as others hold the power, if you will.

Maybe it is as straightforward as letting the Universe decide for you. Maybe it is forgiving yourself for not having the ability to solve a situation brought about by chaos. Maybe it just is what it is and it’s okay to accept that. Maybe it is taking a lot of deep breaths, closing your eyes, opening them again and refocusing your energies.

It seems to most likely be the last one. And, that’s okay if that's what it has to be.

Expanse at Sunset