sandraplace

As you may guess from the quotes harvested for this post, this month’s blog is dedicated to recognizing our strengths in times of need. We’ll look at some ways to draw from our inner wells of hope and resilience, and actions we can actually take to strengthen these pillars of well-being.

Grief grips us in many ways and while it may become more bearable, it truly never leaves. It sneaks up on us years after the loss, often with precision cuts and disruptive timing. Grief can wear many faces and come from any kind of loss.

The first version of the French folktale "Stone Soup" was published in 1720. Entitled "Soupe au Caillou," the fable was recorded and modernized by French journalist and author Anne-Marguerite Petit du Noyer. “Stone Soup” existed as a story for many years previous to this first printed edition in rural oral traditions. It is an amazing guide to successful human cohabitation.

I awoke the other night with a start from a dream that shook me to my bones. I dreamt an old friend visited me and asked me to remember him. He needn’t have worried, as he was a man I could never forget. His name was Lee. He was a gay man in a time of isolation and at least 30 years older than me.

As the old year of 2025 wound down and the new one was on the horizon, I imagine many us turned our thoughts to the way we will greet, meet and initiate the upcoming year. Perhaps many also decided to resolve to change a behavior or set a goal using New Year’s Resolutions. Not to be pessimistic, but most resolutions fail, and fail rather quickly.

The holiday season holds the magic of meaning for all of us celebrating holidays around the world in the month of December. Each holiday is held sacred and defined by the culture in which it grew.

First Harvest and the Festival of Loaf Mass, Lammas, Lammastide, and also called Lughnasadh!

Walking outdoors in the month of July in any northern hemisphere locale, olfactory nerves are tickled with the flowery smells, blossoming trees, grasses, and the sweet aroma of herbs growing in our gardens.  Our optic nerves are stimulated with a flood of color and taste buds await the first harvest of herbs to spice our food, adding beauty, flavor and good medicine to our plates. 

When I was a child, we celebrated May Day with the traditional Maypole, May baskets and community gatherings for these events. Sadly, those things have gone away in most communities, but it does not lessen the joy the month of May brings.