October 4, 2023

October 4, 2023

“Hey, do you guys ever think about death?”
– Barbie

Dear Ones,

It’s October! My favorite month of the year, the time when we are released from the heat of summer (surely any time now) and start leaning towards the string of holidays to come, beginning with Halloween and ending with maybe Valentine’s Day or the Super Bowl, depending on your priorities. In European traditions, the festivals of late October–Halloween, which has Christian roots, and Samhain, the older pagan cross-quarter celebrations in between the fall equinox and the winter solstice–have ancient roots. They celebrate the connections between the living and the dead and mark a time when the “veil between the worlds” of the living & the dead is said to be thinner than usual. I’m sure these old traditions were considered when Soul Matters decided to highlight the theme of Heritage this month. It’s also a good time of year to be aware of the finite scope of our own lives and those of everyone and everything around us, and to remember our connections to both the ancestors and our descendants. 

In the movie “Barbie” the question quoted above ends up reshaping the whole world of BarbieLand. It’s a question we have the opportunity to consider every year around this time, and we might benefit from entering more deeply into this season than just decorating our spaces (which is not to discount the importance of decorations!). I know that awareness and experience of life and death touches and shapes our individual lives, and I suspect Barbie’s question has the power to change our world, as well, if we can think together with courage and love. 

Yours in living, dying, and all that connects them, 

Rev. Denise
RevDenise@gnuuc.org