Dia de los Muertos - A Celebration and Thoughts on Death

Today is Dia de los Muertos, a day to remember and celebrate those who have preceded us into the unknown that awaits us all. Today I'm remembering my parents, my in-laws, my cousin who passed shortly before shut-down last year, and a myriad of other people in my life - close and distant. Death is a part of the human experience. It might be more proper to say that death is a part of life's experience, because in our world, everything dies. 

It gets a bit cold up here to do traditional Dia de los Muertos 
celebrations, so altars are often made at home instead of 
at the cemetery. The graves are still visited and decorated, 
though, although eating meals and spending the day and 
often the night with those who have passed is hard to do 
when nighttime temperatures dip into the 20's F. 

That has set up a conundrum for humanity, because we fall into the comfortable and fear the unknown. Death is the great unknown, and with the exception of some religious beliefs, it's a one-way trip. To the best of my knowledge, that fear of the unknown - fear of death - doesn't pervade the thoughts, dreams, artwork, novels, music, and speech of any other entity on the planet except humanity. Yet, humans in all places and all walks of life, fight actively against death almost every day of our lives. 

I really loved this picture, so had to share it with all 
of you. In many ways, it's quite a benevolent Death, 
holding his skeletal hand out for the young lady. 

No pundit is silly enough to say that he or she has conquered death. No, what is claimed instead is a postponement. Eat this and you'll live longer. Do this exercise. Live your life this way. Don't forget to drink this before your nighttime meal, you'll live longer. But really, the question comes two-fold. (1) Do we want to live longer? And (2) Really? Why? 

In Mexico it is tradition to share a meal with the dead 
on Dia de los Muertos. Some families will spend the 
entire day at the cemetery, decorating the grave(s), 
eating, singing, and generally including the dead in 
the lives of the living. It sounds pretty good to me. 

What is gained by living longer? Isn't the important thing to live better, healthier, and have your independence for as long as you possibly can? Many of you have read my story about my mother and have been kind enough to comment on it. Mother lived for almost five additional years in that care center. Was she happy? I really can't say. If I had spoken to her pre-Alzheimer's self and told her what her future held, would she have wanted it? I'm sure she had some happy days, and I'm sure she had some sad ones. That's human nature. But was she truly happy? I can only hope so. 

In Tolkien, you have the Halls of Mandos, overseen by 
Lord Namo. Some elves go there voluntarily - Miriel 
comes to immediate mind. Others come there when their 
"immortal" lives are cut short - usually in Middle Earth. 
I've always seen Lord Namo as portrayed by Fiondil - a 
silent and brooding figure, but compassionate and 
heart-sore at the fate of his charges. 

So as you celebrate and remember your loved ones who have gone before you today on Dia de los Muertos, think also about yourself. Think about your life, and living it to the fullest. Think about the dreams you hold and whether or not they are still valid. If so, can you do something about achieving some of them? Look upon the life lessons you learned from those who have gone beyond the veil, and put those lessons into your own life. 

Live your life well. Treat each day as if it might 
be your last. Leave love in your pathway, not hatred. 
Remember others, be kind, and above all else, listen. 
Much of the time, listening is the greatest gift. 

For me, I say a loud "THANK YOU" to all who have intersected with my life and have passed from this realm to the next. I have been enriched by each of you, I have learned, I have laughed, and I will cry because I miss all of you. But beyond that, you gave me a part of yourself, and I value that above all else. Have an excellent day, I'll be back tomorrow. 

Dia De Los Muertos, Samhain and NaNoWriMo

I hope everyone had a good Samhain and that today will be an excellent Dia De Los Muertos for each of you. These two days open the doorway to Autumn in my mind, and we're now on the slippery slope towards Winter Solstice in December. My Samhain was quite low-key, just the way I prefer it to be. My Dia De Los Muertos is a chance for a bit of retrospection and remembrance. Today I'll be remembering those who have passed the veil before me - my parents and in-laws, my Unci, and this past month, my brother Floyd. 

Sugar skulls and colorful altars are often a characteristic for
the celebration of Dia De Los Muertos. Remembering those
who have gone before is always a good thing. 

Memory can be a filter of your choosing. You can remember the good times or the bad. You can focus on one irritating thing about a person who has gone beyond, or remember the good things. To be honest, it's probably better to take off the rose-colored and the violet-colored glasses and just view memories as what they are - compounded, often only accurate in part, and not a good place in which to spend a lot of time. Memories can be faulty, incorrect, and slanted. If you build your future based only upon your memories of the past, it won't have a very solid foundation. 

I love this quotation by J.K. Rowling. So many times we
hit rock bottom and are looking up, trying to climb up
sheer sides. If you just look at that bottom as the lowest
point you'll ever go, it's only up from there. 

But as we step out into the latter portion of the year, it isn't a bad thing to remember and to celebrate. Those who have passed ahead of us still shared and influenced our lives in many ways. There is no person who will affect everyone in a positive fashion at all times. That's sainthood far beyond sainthood, and Godhood that really doesn't exist. Give me a more balanced view, please. Give me the mother who loved me and supported me, but who often didn't really understand me. Give me the brother who was demanding and sometimes toxic, yet who opened up more doors to me than I would ever have believed. Give me life - because that's what life is. Life is both good and bad, sometimes within the same moment or stream of life. Pain is balanced by joy, laughter is balanced by tears. 

Writing for NaNoWriMo? I'm here on the sidelines,
cheering you on. "Go! Go! Go! I know you'll do it!" 

So I wish all of you a wonderful Dia De Los Muertos, and for those of you doing NaNoWriMo, I wish you a successful day at your keyboard - only 28 days to go after today's writing session. I'm standing at the sidelines cheering once again. But I'm totally in your corner - my voice is calling out encouragement for you along with a large crowd of other voices. Have an excellent Saturday, remember to turn your clocks back tonight, if appropriate for your area of the nation, and I'll be back on Monday. Blessed Be! 

Dia de los Muertos/All Saints Day

Happy November and All Saint's Day. Today is Dia de los Muertos aka the Day of the Dead and in warmer climates people will be setting out feasts at the graveyards and celebrating the lives of those who have passed ahead of us. It's too cold up here to do much of the outdoor thing, so those celebrating Dia de los Muertos up here will likely do it indoors. At least, if I was setting out my sugar skulls, candy, feasts and candles, that's where I would be setting them up. 

Today we celebrate All Saints Day and Dia de los Muertos. Which
celebration will you add to your day? The saints? The celebration of
those who have passed? Maybe you'll celebrate both! 

It's a day for reflection and giving thanks to those who have already passed. It's one of the certainties of life - you are born to die. It's going to happen. It's never expected, it's always a surprise, and we don't throw the door open requesting Death to appear and take us away; at least most of us don't do that. Most of us cling to our lives here with tenacity, unwilling to let go. That's understandable - the other side of that divide is unknown territory and that's frightening. 

Highly decorated sugar skulls are one of the
more colorful ways to celebrate the dead.
Painting them while remembering those
loved ones no longer next to us can be
a soothing balm on the pain of separation. 

Death of loved ones affects those left behind, though, and that's what Dia de los Muertos is all about. Through the celebration of those who have left us, they are once more close to us and that celebration also helps us heal and close the door on the pain of loss. Time dulls the pain, but it's always there in the background. Today is a day to bring the dead up-to-date with what has happened in our lives. We show them the new babies in the family, report on how well school is going or whether goals have been achieved or not. The Veil between the living and the dead is thin for the next 48 hours. If you want to speak to your dead, it's a good time to do that. 

When decorating your sugar skull, add images
and motifs that would have meaning to those
who have walked ahead of you. Celebrate
their lives and thank them for the gift of
having shared their lives with you. 

I've chosen several sugar skulls to decorate my blog today. Let their bright visage offer comfort to you on this cold November day. My list of errands is long for my day off, so I'll cut this short right here and I'll be back tomorrow. Happy Wednesday. 

Happy Halloween and Tomorrow's Blog

Happy Halloween to one and all. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays - I loved it as a kid, went to a lot of parties as an adult, and now I answer the door and distribute candy to other younger people working their way through the neighborhood. It's all good and enjoyable. We've had both great weather and winter blizzards in the past, so we never know what will happen on this date, but today looks like it will be warm with no snow in sight.

The neighborhood I grew up in had lots of kids. We were all escorted by
parents and wandered through three or four blocks to get our pillowcases
filled with sugary delights. 

Tomorrow morning is the first of November and the first day when I can put in an application for new health insurance. Given the fact that my plan is defunct on January 1st, I have to get this handled. More than 250,000 of us will be without insurance on the first of January, but only 20,000 of us will be able to obtain insurance through specific programs operated by MnSure. That's going to leave a lot of people swinging in the wind and I'm determined to NOT be one of them. Instead of a blog post tomorrow, I'll be dealing with insurance as soon as I awaken. Hopefully my early rising habits will pay off for a change.

Halloween is a bridging holiday - a pathway between the living
and the dead and a time when doors can be opened. 

So, there might not be much of a post tomorrow, but I'm sure you all will survive without my chatting about this and that. I'm hearing DH having a very restless night in the bedroom above me, and chances are good I'll have company for breakfast in a few hours. That actually would be rather nice.

Have a wonderful Halloween. If you're partying, remember to drink responsibly or walk to and from home. If you're watching kidlings as they wander through neighborhoods or attend various Halloween parties, enjoy their glee as they gather with other costumed kids to collect candy or playthings together. Don't forget, not everyone can eat candy, so if you're giving things out, try to have some non-candy alternatives for those who have food allergies. Then, get your sugar skills ready for the Day of the Dead coming up tomorrow!

Argh! - Chocolate and No Sleep

Daylight savings time recall - hate it! Love the extra hour of sleep on Sunday morning, but hate getting any appreciable sleep for the next night. Last night was toss/turn and get up every two hours. Ick! When I add too much chocolate eaten during the day - thus too much caffeine - it's certainly a contributing factor to my lack of sleep.

Love this one - a musical sugar skull for MPR -
Minnesota Public Radio. Great work. 

Halloween was a disappointment! There must have been a lot of parties and some organized activities going on, because we got no college kids and only two children - neither of which were from the household next door. The kids were very cute, though. Candy was given out, but too much remains. I'll be working on getting most of this into the freezer or I'll end up gaining when I should be maintaining or losing weight over the next two months.

On this skull I like the flowers and the fact that, like
the skull before it, they didn't block in behind
the mandible, leaving it open space as it should be. 

Welcome to Dia de los Muertos. Here in the city, it was celebrated on Sunday to allow people to go to their jobs today, but today is the official date. Thus, I've decorated today's blog with skulls. I love skulls, especially the sugar skulls that "Dia" is known for, but these are decorated skulls since I really don't need any more sugar.

Here's a really different look at a decorated "sugar" skull
by Vicrosman on Deviant Art
http://vicrosman.deviantart.com/art/Sugar-Skull-Sally-287422829
I like the duality of the piece and the use of colors
is fabulous. 

Off and running, the pool waits for no-one. Here's hoping your night was a bit less frustrating than mine and that you have a truly wonderful Dia de los Muertos. Celebrate!