"I can make whatever choices I want in my life, and I will live with the consequences of those choices. But if I want to live a life close to my deepest desires, I have to risk knowing who I really am and have always been. Knowing this, then I can choose."

 Oriah Mountain Dreamer, The Invitation

  

We live in a culture and a world of avoidance.  Television, social media, alcohol and drugs are just a few escape routes we have to avoid truly knowing who we really are.  At this time of year, when Samhain is fast approaching we cannot avoid the very real fact that we will die, that death is unavoidable, though we may try.  Looking at death straight in the eye can reveal some very hard truths about ourselves, about how we live in the world, and what our responsibility and duty is to the ancestors, not only ancestors of the past but perhaps more importantly, ancestors of the future.  

For it is these ancestors that who will inherit our legacy.  If we cannot even own our own sh*t, why should they have to suffer from it?  Instead of fearing ourselves, instead of fearing death, it is our duty to look deeply into the nature of our existence and the natural cycles, otherwise, why be Pagan? Why follow an earth-based tradition if we are going to live in avoidance of the very real nature of existence, the natural cycles of nature? 

Zen Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, wrote a beautiful book called No Mud, No Lotus. Within those pages is the deep wisdom that life and death are wrapped into one, and that the rotting yet life giving mulch that the rose blooms from is within the rose, and the rose is within the rotting mulch.  The lotus is contained within the stinky, smelly mud at the bottom of the pond, and the mud is within the lotus.  There is no separation, no distinct line between the two, where one emerges and one recedes. It's given me a wonderful mantra for my life.  When I have to face things head on, my motto is "No sh*t, no flowers." 

It's hard to look at the crap.  But this time of year is the perfect time to really come to terms with all the crap in our lives.  Within the darkness we find suffering, and in that suffering we share a common humanity.  What we often don't realise is that we also share a common way out of that suffering, which is compassion and fully being present.  Compassion is looking deeply into the heart of suffering, and being kind to that suffering.  Being present allows us to put our suffering into context within the wider world. At Samhain, we can look deeply not only into the heart of suffering, but into the heart of death, and be kind and present to the reality of death.  

It may sound like an odd thing to do, but we follow the cycles of nature, and cannot simply avoid it.  Just as we cannot avoid unpleasantness in our lives (much though we may try) we are afforded the opportunity each year to really take a long, hard look at death and see how we can transform the suffering in our lives not only for our own personal benefit, but also for the benefit of our ancestors of the future.  It is they who will live with our legacy - let's make it one that will cause the least amount of suffering. Let's make it one that they will be proud of. It's not an easy thing to do, looking at all the crap in our lives, looking at our own mortality.  However, the easiest route is one that will leave that crap for others to deal with. Let's not do that. Let us take care and responsibility for our own lives. Equally, we also have a care of duty towards others.  Once we own our sh*t, we can move forward in our lives with eyes and hearts wide open.  

We always have a choice.  Let's use this choice wisely.  

Let us not avoid ourselves, nor avoid death.  Let us gather up our lives and our messes and work it out. Let us prepare for our own death right now. Ride the tides of Samhain to their fullest. Let us make the ancestors proud.