Ah, New Year’s. That time once a year when things are new and shiny, and hope springs, singing “I can CHANGE!” What a lovely, lovely idea…if only we could change that easily, I would be out of a job and into my fallback career as professional storyteller. Let’s get real. If I said to myself… Continue Reading Resolving To Be New: The Art of the Successful Resolution
Gut Yule! and the Spirit of Reconciliation
Gut Yule! Did you know that the date set for Christmas was actually an act of conciliation? It seems strange to me that at this time of the year, there’s so much tension about what we’re celebrating, when in one form or another, we’re all celebrating the light. According to some historians, the first… Continue Reading Gut Yule! and the Spirit of Reconciliation
‘Lone for the Holidays
This year, for one reason or another, many of us will be alone for the holidays. And for THESE holidays, where we find everywhere images of togetherness, being alone can be brutal. For many, it’s a choice to protect the heart, avoiding social contact. For others, those early lessons in not belonging replay in present… Continue Reading ‘Lone for the Holidays
Knowing When Enough is Enough
When is enough, enough? I’ve been wondering that since a chance encounter I had when I first arrived in Austin. A friend of mine and I, bored of the party we were attending, jumped into Lake Travis and swam over to the private yachts doting the piers. We were hailed by a well-groomed man on… Continue Reading Knowing When Enough is Enough
Holiday Strategies for the Socially Nervous
Oh lordy, another holiday party. Some of us get tickled at the groaning board, or getting tricked out in new, or next-to-new, threads, or even engaging in some of the inane conversations that buzz and guffaw around us. Not you? Nor a surprising number of others. News flash: social anxiety and parties do NOT go… Continue Reading Holiday Strategies for the Socially Nervous
FEYT: Festive End of Year Trauma (and what you can do about it)
Ah, the merry prancing of little reindeer hooves! The lighting of the menorah! The parties, the food, the music (not “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,” necessarily, but maybe some upbeat Gregorian chants, the Etta James version of a tune, some of the more traditional stuff), and the lights! In this season of the… Continue Reading FEYT: Festive End of Year Trauma (and what you can do about it)
Prepping for the Holidays…Never Too Soon to Check Your Fantasies at the Door!
How does this happen!? The holidays are here again, with family (expectations) and feasting (that is never on your diet) and gift-giving (that is always expensive and never satisfying to the recipient). The ending of the year, regardless of your religious background, is rich with meaning. It is the omega of this year, just before… Continue Reading Prepping for the Holidays…Never Too Soon to Check Your Fantasies at the Door!
Masks and Costumes, Year-Round!
Masks.Costumes. We wear them throughout the year, and no more so than at Halloween. Halloween gives us special permission to be that funny, sexy, terrifying thing that secretly (at other times of the year) delights us, and hopefully others. My transformations throughout my years have reflected the essence of where I was at that… Continue Reading Masks and Costumes, Year-Round!
Dia de los Muertos and the Power of Ritual
Trick or treat! Is there no better ritual in the entire world, then running around at night in a fabulous costume, the streets belonging to the children and the children-at-heart, openly asking for and receiving yummy candy? Probably, but I can’t think of any right now, at least no ritual as all-inclusive as this. We… Continue Reading Dia de los Muertos and the Power of Ritual
Halloween, A Delightful Reminder
This month, I’ll be exploring in blogs about Halloween, and its wonderful service as a reminder. A reminder that we are mortal, and that we’re not dead yet. A reminder that we like to have fun, scary fun. A reminder that the “door” between the living and the not-living-in-this-world-anymore can be strong and sustaining. Many… Continue Reading Halloween, A Delightful Reminder