Hallow Wind

I woke early to a poised stillness, the sun peeking its delicate, pastel face through my bedroom window.   She was waking me slowly, greeting me with the warmish morning, bringing clear contrast to the chill in last night's air.  The sun's rays were low in the horizon.  The bare tree limbs whispered that winter is on its way.  It is an autumn worthy of October 31st.

"This is the kind of morning that calls for freshly baked biscuits", I jumped out of bed and scuffled off to the kitchen. I felt true happiness, with coffee brewing, kitties swarming below my feet, and my fingers knuckle deep in dough.  The oven took the chill out of the morning air, wafting the all too familiar smell of grandma's house.  True comfort.

As the morning lingered, the breezes outside started to stiffen. Feint sounds of a single trash can blowing down the street silhouetted the sporadic whistling from the window panes.  Muffled wind chimes, though tied back for the impending storm, still found a way to fill the air with their dance.   

By noon, the gusts had made their way to a steady wind;  larger gusts took their place.  Trees adjusted their grand stance, flexing their branches, and giving gauge of the impending force.   

I could sit for hours, safely inside and watching. This is the day to just "be".  No lists. No guilt. No planning. No hoping. No wanting.  Time does not exist beyond this moment. Nothing is more important to me right now than .... now.   

With that, it was decided.  Today is a day to celebrate being alive.  Lounging in my jammies, yoga, stretching, meditations, music, painting, love, gratitude. Gusting, chaotic winds outside brought contrast to the peace and serenity inside.   I shall use this as a metaphor.

It's almost dark and I realized that children in their costumes will be knocking on my door, with that ever annual phrase of "Trick or Treat". It is Halloween.  

Halloween isn't my favorite holiday.  I don't like being scared.  Violence in general makes me uncomfortable.  And sugar can be a very dangerous toy.   So I turned off my front porch light and slid open my back door, sitting just inside to shield myself from the storm, yet exposed enough to still feel the winds of change.

Big, wet drops start falling from the night's sky, scattered at an abnormal distance from each other.   They started falling more frequently, then smaller and closer together, until it seems a steady stream of water falling from the dark sky.   Perfect cleansing end to this day of "now", on All Hallow's Eve.