Again this morning my reflection starts in the kitchen. It’s an easy and joyful place to be thankful for food and for birdsong, as usual, and for the stunning sunrise out the east window. But for me these last days of November are also a time of reflection for reasons both ordinary and special.This is a season when life and death are both in sharp focus, as are sadness and thankfulness. These weeks contain my birthday, my sister’s birthday, and my husband’s death day. It is also the death season of three beloved pets and the birth season of a beloved child. This month I am often at the table with my family and we are all joking and feasting, telling stories, and brimming over with love and

I was thinking about how we at Celtic Way represent the Celtic Christian tradition in the United States in the 21st century. It is a topic which fills my thoughts frequently. Like many of us who are passionate about a particular subject we can dig into it with great zeal and after some time we learn that there is more to learn than we can ever learn! Such fun! Celtic Christianity is so broad and covers quite a large span of time that it really is impossible for us to speak of THE Celtic Christian tradition. We at Celtic Way are greatly influenced by ancient Celtic Christian writers as well as contemporary authors. I am indebted to John Philip Newell for the tremendous work and creativity he

Synchronicity: C J Jung’s term for meaningful coincidence. I like to think of it as God-incidence. This past year, when I was dressing at the pool after my water exercise class, I became aware of two curious big dark-brown eyes of an almost 5-year-old watching me putting on face cream. I offered her some for her little face. After that I shared hand cream and then a spritz of grapefruit lily spray. Eventually I reluctantly gave her my little travel sized bottle of the spray. Her shy thank-you progressed to a good-bye hug that was delightfully soft and squishy in her little down jacket. Soon she was looking for me in my class (and I was looking for her) when she would arrive for her lessons.

"you ………shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.” Deuteronomy 26:11 The apple, freshly picked from the tree was tart-sweet, juicy and better than I ever remember an apple tasting. The apple trees at the “pick-your-own apple orchard” were trained to trellises so that they were just our height and the perfect apple was well within reach. But what struck me most were all the apples that had fallen to the ground. Some fully ripe and perfectly good, some slightly damaged and some damaged and rotting. Those were the ones the yellow jacket hornets were enjoying when they weren’t scaring the children who were there. My son thought it strange that I

There is just something about Autumn that feels like new beginning. Perhaps it’s a back to school feeling; clean chalkboards, freshly sharpened pencils, and new day planners just begging to be opened. It seems to me, as the cold winds blow in and the trees begin to drop their leaves, that now is the time to reflect and prepare for the coming year. The Ancient Celts knew this too. Samhain, traditionally celebrated October 31-November 1, marks the end of the harvest season and of the Celtic Year. There is much to be said about this movement into the dark half of the year. Darkness is a necessity for growth. We plant seeds in black dirt. Sleep, which most of us do at night, is the origin for br