“I don’t know whether I believe in God or not. I think, really, I’m some kind of a Buddhist. But the essential thing is to put oneself in a frame of mind which is close to that of prayer.”
―Henri Matisse
What do you do to put yourself in a frame of mind that is close to prayer?
Today we “fall back,” setting our clocks back an hour for the end of daylight savings time. It isn’t exactly a free hour—it’s an hour that you saved up back in March that you must now withdraw from that time bank. Wouldn’t it be great if we could collect interest on the time we save, gathering minutes as the months go by? But the only way to add to an hour is to get the most you can from each minute that you have.
How will you spend the hour that you have been saving all these months?
Have you ever stretched out your back on a yoga ball—or a giant pumpkin? Sometimes stretching ourselves is uncomfortable and scary, and we resist trying something new or threatening. But sometimes the stretch is a relief, releasing us from habits that make us stiff and unyielding.
How will you stretch yourself today?
The blackberries that ripened in the summer sun meet their end in a pot stirred by a grinning skull. They will lose their individuality, be crushed to something unrecognizable—and be preserved to be re-born in deeper sweetness some winter day. If they had stayed on the vine they would have simply withered away. Sometimes the radical change we fear opens us to undreamed possibilities.
Where do you see radical change in your life or the world around you?
The Mexican celebration of El día de los muertos honors loved ones who have died, not with black shrouds and mourning, but with a colorful celebration featuring bright orange marigolds, colorful paper cut-outs and sugar skulls that are meant to be eaten. Death brings painful loss, but when we accept it as a natural part of the cycle of life then it becomes easier to invite the ghosts and skeletons who surround us to the party.
Whose memory will you celebrate and welcome today?
