A Sort of Stream

The cold weather today brought freezing rain and a shockingly chill day for so early in the winter season. We've been quite spoiled the last several years down here in southern Illinois; it will be interesting to see what this year brings.

I've been trying to keep my ears pricked for news of Hurricane Paloma (weird name). Thousands were evacuated as it headed toward Cuba, and though damage was sustained, it has not been as great as expected. No deaths or injuries have been reported yet, but it still sounds as if the aftermath from the storm will keep people out of their homes for quite some time.

It's so easy to get caught up in our own change of seasons and lose touch with the happenings in other parts of the world. As our environment shifts, so too does everyone else's... and that may bring joy or sorrow to other places and other people.

My husband, who is an astrologer (among many other things), says there is something big coming in mid-November. While I don't quite invest in astrology to quite the same degree he does, his accuracy in certain matters and my own experience with some aspects of it has led me to remain openly curious and to pay attention when he brings things up.

Whatever coming is big, and for those of us in the U.S., it may be financial in scope (i.e., more bad news on the economy front). For other countries, it may bring different challenges... perhaps these strange and powerful weather cycles will continue.

No matter what may arrive in your neck of the woods, may you be safe and find direction in the storm - be it literal or figurative. The changing of the seasons can bring up many emotions and signify many things (death, life, mortality, transformation, renewal).

In this moment, the impact of the marked transition into a new phase reminds me of the Buddhist koan that also connects back to the paradox of fleeting stability and ever-present chaos. However, I can't find it... so I'll turn instead to Albert Camus, who said roughly the same thing:

You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.

Be safe. Remember others. Stay connected.