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Unclutter Your Life — Make Room For Your Good

OK, 2021 is here. Virus or no virus, you have some things that you definitely must get done this year. You have charted out a specific path that you will walk in 2021. Your path leads to whatever reward you envision for yourself at the end of the path. Doesn’t it make sense to you then, to refrain from weighing yourself down with unnecessary “stuff” while you are walking on that path? Carrying that extra burden only slows you down and makes your journey so much more difficult. Choose to make 2021 the “Year of the Unclutter”. Make the choice to unclutter yourself, both on the outside (material trash) as well as on the inside (mental, emotional and spiritual trash) if for no other reason than it will help y-o-u.

Outside Uncluttering

Start with all the things that you own that you no longer use or need. The first thing that may pop into your head might be — “I may have a use for that one day.” When you start thinking that, put your mind in “manual override mode”. Say to that thought, “Excuse me but I am in charge here and I say that trash needs to go”. You will experience, when you rid yourself of junk that is cluttering up your life, a rush of clarity, lightness and freedom. You no longer have these “weights” tethered to you. If it is something you haven’t used in a long while, start actually using it, give it away, sell it, recycle it, or toss it. Unless you are Fred or Lamont Sanford, you just don’t need all that junk in your life.

Start with old clothes that you no longer wear. Maybe they are long out of style, or they don’t fit anymore or are in a state of major disrepair. The “junk loving” part of your thinking will immediately come up with reasons to hold on (“that style might come back someday”, “I’m gonna lose that twenty pounds for sure”, “maybe the tailor can fix it — I have to get over there someday”). Just take it to a clothes recycling location and be done with it.

Next go on to small appliances (that old toaster that you are never going to use), old electronics (the broken Commodore 64 you can’t bear to part with), anything broken that you wouldn’t use even if you got it fixed (the coal-fired barbeque grill from Uncle Lloyd and Aunt Thelma) , outdated items in the medicine cabinet (Come on, they don’t even make Konjola anymore), that old bottle of salad dressing in the fridge from three years ago, that dusty bundle of mail that has long since lost any value to you, all other paper related stuff such as old documents, momentos, souveneirs, photos, newspapers, magazines, etc. Being an unabashed book lover, I confess that I simply just cannot bring myself to add “books” to this list. It would be like throwing away a friend in the trash. Finally, take a good look at that “I just might have a use for that down the road” stuff that “down the road” you’ll be saying to yourself “Why the hell did I hang onto this crap!”

Inside Uncluttering

Getting yourself to part with the material junk is good. You will benefit. Congratulate yorself. When you are ready, then walk further yet into the realm of enhanced freedom, clarity, lightness and energy. Begin the process, little bits by little bits, to unclutter yourself of all the detrimental junk on the inside — energy-draining negative emotions, bad memories, unhealthy habits, lingering resentments, deep hurts, big disappointments, stupid mistakes, futile jealousies, toxic regrets and one hundred and one fears of this, that and everything in between. Yeah, I know, believe me, I know, that is most definitely the hard part of uncluttering. The rewards you that you subsequently receive however, are absolutlely worth it, many many times over. Human beings have this perverse tendency to hold on to these negative, dis-empowering “inner things” with inexplicable tenacity. All that they are however are a huge sack of rocks that you lug around with you every single mf day of your precious life. Drop the rocks. Walk away. Free yourself.

It has been theorized that there are endless dimensions of reality (other worlds) where every possibility that one can possibly imagine is actually occurring right now. In your mind, the only place where you are truly in charge, put yourself in a dimension where good things are happening for you right now. If your mind is in “that place”, it will drop that sacks of rocks in order to grab onto the good stuff. Make the choice to unclutter yourself to make room in your life for the good to come rushing in.

Success to you in 2021!

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Success Formula of the Mongols

Genghis Khan – Mongolian Emperor. Steel Statue

When discussing the many empires that this world of ours has seen, the most famous is probably the Roman empire which lasted over a thousand years. Did you know however that that Mongol empire of Ghengis Khan and company of the 1200’s was the largest world empire in terms of pure land mass? The Mongol empire comprised an astounding 17% of the entire land surface of the earth. By comparison, the Roman empire comprised 3%. How was this possible for Ghengis Khan and the Mongols (sounds like a musical group – OK everyone let’s give it up for Ghengis Khan and the Mongols) to accomplish this. It all started from a tribe of seven including his mother, in Outer Mongolia. The Mongols would go on to conquer and subjugate everything and everyone in their path stretching from Pacific shores of China to Hungary in eastern Europe. At one point, it was even thought that the Mongol empire would stretch all the way from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean.

Vision…..Intention…..Faith

If you make the choice to explore further about this staggering feat, you will find that the Mongols had three overriding facets to their success: vision, intention and faith. Their vision was crystal clear – the world having just one ruler, the Mongols. Their intention was just as clear – to fulfill their vision by conquering and subjugating everything and everyone in their path. The final ingredient in their recipe was their faith. In the group mind of the Mongols, they were already rulers of the world. Their credo was conquer and subjugate or ——-. Oh that’s right, there was no “or”. There was no “try”. Absolutely everything was on the line, their families, their possessions, everything. They utilized everything at their disposal, conventional and non-conventional, traditional and non-traditional to make their vision their reality.

2021

As you mark down your new year’s resolutions for 2021, refrain from marking them down as part of a wimpy wish list. Mark them down with a crystal clear vision of your desires. Edit the list to a hard core of desires. Mark them down with a relentless, ferocious intent to make it happen. Then take that critical final step, without doubt the hardest step, to actually believe and feel as if your desire is already real right now. Clearly, see, feel, smell, hear, touch your vision. If your mind keeps telling you that it can’t happen because of this and because of this and oh yeah, especially because of that, then just make the choice to spend some time feeling the happiness, feeling the joy, feeling the bliss, without specifying anything but the fact that wonderful things are happening to you and for you right now. It will not hurt you. You will receive one thousand percent more benefit than spending that same amount of time and energy fretting and worrying. Just do it. Grow your faith. What you must do is simple but what you must do is not easy. You must make the choice to work on it. If you “feel it”, you will “real it”, just like Ghengis did.

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A New Birth of You

Christmas — The time of the year that Christians worldwide celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The topic of this week’s post will take a look at those words that Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about a person being born a second time. This phrase of being born again has been tossed around by many different groups in many different directions.

Let’s take a look at that nocternal encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus by looking in scripture at the third chapter of John (NIV):

“Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus, who was a member of the ruling Jewish council. He came to Jesus at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.’

Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again?’

‘How can someone be born when they are old? Nicodemus asked. ‘Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born?’

Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless they re born of water and the spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth to spirit.”

Have you ever thought about what this being “born again” stuff is all about as far as your own life is concerned.? Being within the true Kingdom of God sure sounds like a place that a person would want to be within. Or does it just sound like a bunch of mumbo-jumbo to you? What is your take on this statement from scripture?

There are many preachers, pastors and posers who will be more than happy to tell you what they think (and in turn, what you should think) about this “second birth thing”. You are a soverign human being. Make your own decision on the matter. Ask. Seek. Knock. I make zero attempt to say this about it or to say that about it. The only thing that I will say is this — if you have never really thought about it, why not start the gears of your mind in motion about it. The reason being that it will definitely be to your best benefit to know more about it. If you google it, there are millions of citations containing the phrase “born again”.

Look into this on your own. Don’t be afraid to seek spiritual guidance on it through prayer. Ask. Seek. Knock. Use the miracle of the internet and the miracle of prayer to look into this matter as Christians all over the world celebrate the miracle of the birth of Jesus Christ.

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Winter Is A Time For Action

If you conduct a precise google search for “winter is a time for reflection” (in quotes), you will get a result of over a million citations. Likewise, if you conduct a precise google search for “winter is a time for action” (in quotes) you will get a result of 2 citations (from a garden center). Obviously then, this post will be “swimming against the tide” but you can at least get a different perspective on Winter after you finish reading it.

Note To The Reader: If you live in a year-round warm weather climate, just make believe while reading this post that you live in my state of New Jersey.

Winter — Cold. Indoors. Hibernation. Outdoor Venues Empty. Snow. Ice. Did I Mention Cold? Winter is thought of by many, as confirmed by the google search results noted above, as the perfect time to pull back, slow down, reflect on the past year and plan your steps for the coming Spring, Summer and Autumn. Winter however, can be a time, maybe the best time, for you to take action to make your life better. That is the driving force behind this blog — making your life better.

In 1776, George Washington did the contrarian thing to keep the American Revolution going by attacking British forces (Hessians) at Trenton. In the midst of a miserable Winter storm, the morning after Christmas, his gamble paid off with a miraculous victory that raised the morale of the American forces and held the army of the new nation together just when it seemed that everything was about to come apart at the seams.

On June 6, 1944, Allied forces engaged in the largest military naval, air and land operation ever seen when they attacked the well-entrenched German forces in France. The successful invasion marked the begining of the end of hitler and the nazis. It most certainly would never have happened but for the veritable beehive of action that took place in the Winter of 1943 getting everything in place for the invasion. That is what “Old Man Winter” can give you — that “get ready time” so that you can “hit the ground running” in Spring to achieve whatever it is that you desire to achieve in your life.

Winter Actions

Not Spring Cleaning but Using This Time To Unclutter — Get rid of the junk that you no longer really need. That junk in the closet. That junk in the garage. That junk in the basement. That junk in the attic. That junk in the cabinets. That junk in the bureau drawers. That junk in the “junk drawer”. And especially that junk in your mind and in your heart that is counter productive and is weighing you down big time.

Not Just Planning but Using This Time for Active, Definite Preparations — There are countless cooking shows on tv nowadays. If you have ever watched one of them, you’ll notice that when the chef is in the process of preparing the featured dish, everything needed is always right on the counter, in little bowls, within arms reach. Everything has been pre-measured in advance. All the cooking implements are right there. The oven is pre-heated and ready to go. Everything has been put into place ahead of time so when the show starts, bam, the chef proceeds smoothly and effectively.

Not Just Reflection and Review but Using This Time for a Radical Renewal and Readjustment in Mind and Spirit — Why not use this Winter to “Go Rad”. Strip down your life to its very core. Hold on to and secure that which works well for you. Flush down the toilet everything that is causing your life to be less than it really should be.

The Winters that you live, comprise a full twenty-five percent of your life. Make full use of them. Make them as a time for action to make your life fuller, richer, more filled with joy, with peace, with power.

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SATS ——– The Ultra Powerful “State Akin To Sleep”

SATS – What Is It?

The cliche of the hypnotist when I was growing up was of of guy with a dark vandyke beard holding a gold pocket watch attached to a chain and swinging it back and forth, back and forth, slowly in front of you while saying to you, “watch the watch, just watch the watch…..back and forth…….you are now getting sleepy…..verrrry sleepy”. Ultimately the subject would fall asleep and be subject to the hypnotic suggestions of the hypnotist.

Every day of your life, you, oh so briefly, travel through that twilight zone between waking consciousness and sleep that has been called SATS or State Akin To Sleep. It is during these fleeting moments when, if you so desire, you can get some heavy duty manifestation work done on your behalf. It is at those times that your body is at its maximum relaxation while you are still in a state of consciousness. It is while you are in the “SATS Zone” that you can best impress upon your subconscious exactly what it is that you desire to receive in your life. While you are in SATS, all the mental and emotional barriers that your conscious mind erects between you and your desire, are temporarily down. Your subconscious stands ready at those times to send to you what you are imaging, what you are feeling, as your true reality.

As Real As Real Ever Gets

This stuff isn’t some fairy tale, it’s too good to be true gingerbread story. It is as real as real ever gets for you. It is stone cold real. Feeling that your desire has already been materialized in your life has been proven to yield definite results innumerable times. There are several videos and articles on the internet to teach you how to intentionally enter into SATS. It is during that time of maximum relaxation when you can train yourself to feel yourself already having your desire. It is during SATS that your subconscious says, “hey this guy really believes that he has that new car. Shoot, I better get to work pronto on this.”

Are You Ready To Do The Work?

The whole thing simply boils down to this…..it’s not whether this SATS thing will “work” or not in bringing to you your desired result…..it’s whether you are ready to do what work is necessary in learning how to do it. Yes, there is work involved. Personally, I think it’s easier to work with SATS just before sleeping as opposed to immediately upon waking but that is just my personal makeup. I tend to start thinking with my logical mind the second I wake up but there is more of a conscious/semi-conscious SATS paradigm going on just before I drift off to sleep.

Drop Your Doubts In The Garbage

If you are sick and tired of being sick and tired, why don’t you just give this a honest effort. After you’ve done some appropriate preliminary research from Mr. Google (key words: manifesting/SATS/State Akin To Sleep) on what you have to do, give it a go and see what happens. Look for signs. Many times small signs precede the actual manifestation. Columbus saw the birds with twigs in their beaks before he saw land. Sometimes the manifestation comes quickly and sometimes it comes not quickly. Be patient. You really don’t have anything to lose. It will not cost you any of your money. It’s totally free except for the expenditure of time on your part.

You might start thinking, “Yeah but what if it doesn’t work? It will just be another disappointment in my life.” Dump these doubts overboard with the rest of the garbage. You don’t need them. Those thoughts merely turn into self-fulfilling prophecies. If you have trouble getting into the swing of it, just start with small things and work up from there. However small it may be, when you get that first breakthrough, and if you stick with it, you will, the rush of joy you feel will make it all worthwhile and will advance you on to bigger things.

Conceive. Believe. Receive.

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For Good Health —– Quarantine Your Excuses

The 1980 movie, “The Blues Brothers”, starring John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd and an all star cast, had both great music and really hilarious scenes. One of those scenes involved Belushi and Ackroyd using a tunnel to get to their car and avoid being captured by the police. As they are walking through the tunnel suddenly a mystery woman who has been trying to kill them all throughout the movie appears and is armed with an M-16 rifle. It turns out that it was Belushi’s ex-fiance that he jilted at the altar. She is after revenge. She tells Belushi that is about to die, stating “You betrayed me.” Then he drops to his knees and pleads the following. ” No I didn’t. Honest. I ran out of gas. I had a flat tire. I didn’t have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn’t come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts. It wasn’t my fault, I swear to God!”

I think at one time or another we have all played that scene. Excuses are deadly. They kill honesty. They kill personal responsibility. They kill growth. They kill credibility. When something goes south in your life, they throw a sheet over your bedroom wall mirror and tell you to look everywhere else, look anywhere else, but don’t look at yourself. As long as the excuses keep flowing, your troubles will keep on growing.

Excuses are fundamentally different than reasons. Reasons are real. Excuses are phony. What is meant by that is that sometimes motivation, focus and determination may still not be quite enough. There may be legitimate reasons why a specific desire has not yet been achieved. You may bear responsibility for caring for a child with multiple handicaps where your daily free time is counted in minutes rather than hours. You may be caring for an elderly parent who has issues that require huge chunks of your daily time. You may be mightily struggling to pay the bills each month with just keeping your head above water a much higher priority than learning the perfect swimming breaststroke. You may only have a handful of energy left every day after tending to work, chores and things that crop up. These may be considered reasons. Excuses are when you do have some time, you do have some resources, you do have some ability, you do have some opportunity and yet, you still make the choice to do something else other than go after your desire. Then you use excuses to execute the con job. Even if legitimate reasons exist however, you can still do whatever you can, with whatever you have, wherever you are at. Even if it is just some tiny little thing each and every day that you can do (ie., a five minute scientific prayer), it will make a positive difference in your life.

When you say to yourself, “Enough with the excuses already…Enough”, and just throw them overboard as useless cargo, you will feel an immediate jolt of lightness and that wonderful feeling of being in greater control of your precious life. You will suddenly find yourself dealing more effectively with any legitimate reasons that your goal has not yet been achieved. You will be pleasantly surprised to discover that even your overall physical health will improve thus increasing your inner storehouse of energy.

Deal with the reasons as best as you know how to do. Use everything and anything in your personal arsenal to work past them. At the same time, get rid of the excuses. They are not serving you. Wherever you are on your life journey, putting those phony excuses in permanent quarantine, will immediately put you in a better place.

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Give Thanks — You Really Will Love The Results

November 26 ………. Thanksgiving Day. Much will be said today about giving thanks and being grateful for blessings. Good feelings will abound. By November 27, the holiday will be officially over. For many it will be back to “business as usual” — carping and complaining.

Having a consistent attitude of thanksgiving has been well documented in a number of published scientific medical studies to actually improve both your physical and your mental health. Perhaps most important of all, it strengthens your spiritual health enabling you to get a glimpse past the surface of your life experiences into the deeper spiritual truths that are at the core of your very existence and are the basis of improving that life of yours.

Why is it important for you to feel gratitude for blessings received? There is another perspective besides the traditional ones. Usually you are told to be thankful because it is what is commanded of you by the religious precepts in which you were brought up. You are told that it is the will of God for you to be thankful. You are told growing up that you should always say thank you when you get something from someone. You are told people like to be thanked for their efforts. You were told by your Uncle Charlie that if you don’t say thank you to Aunt Gertrude for that sweater she gave you (that you don’t even like) that Aunt Gertrude is going to be pissed off and probably take it out on Uncle Charlie when they get home. You are told a lot of things about being thankful. What you may never have been told however is that the way that the universe is constructed, the more that you are honestly thankful, the more good things the universe is going to lay on you. Give…..Get.

What does an attitude of gratitude actually mean? Does it mean just saying the words, “thank you, appreciate it” and that’s it? Does it mean that you must come up with a way to actually demonstrate your gratitude in some way? Answers: (1) Action … (2) No … (3) Yes. For you to set into motion the Universal Law of Thanksgiving, you must actually live it. In doing so, you keep the force in play that sends you more to be thankful for. You might even say that being honestly thankful and demonstrating it by doing something to reflect that thankfulness, is something that is primarily for your benefit.

When the member of the clergy tells congregants that God commands them to be thankful, it tends to present an image of an old guy with a robe and long beard sitting on a throne looking down and saying, “Dance, my minions, dance”. Then he sees someone not thankful, frowns and orders St. Peter to bring him his zapper. Our Creator, the one true God, Universal Force of Unlimited Love and Unrestrainable Power, directs you to be thankful and then follow through with some action reflecting that gratitude because of the one hundred percent certainty that your gratitude in action will bring additional good to you, His beloved created being.

A thanksgiving action can be a silent prayer of blessing for someone, a kind smile, listening to someone who has something to say, a hug, tolerance when someone makes a mistake, an offer to help someone who is struggling, doing something for someone without the slightest expectation that they will ever even know about it or a thousand and one other actions that you can come up with.

There is no way to get around it. Thanksgiving is important. The thirteenth century theologian and mystic, Meister Eckhart, said, “If the only prayer that you ever said during your entire life was ‘thank you’, it would be enough”.

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Free To You…….The Lectures of Neville Goddard

One of the beautiful things about writings and recordings that are in what is known as “the public domain” is that they are absolutely free of charge to anyone who wishes to read, listen or copy them in any way they choose. One set of writings and recordings that are in the public domain that could help you jumpstart your manifesting efforts involve those of the twentieth century mystic, author and lecturer, Neville Goddard.

Neville Goddard (1905 – 1972) was born in the British West Indies on the island of Barbados. He was the fourth of ten children and immigrated to the United States in 1922. He was the author of several books as well as giving countless lectures in person, on the radio, on television and on recorded albums. He is not an easy person to pigeon hole as a proponent of this philosophy or that philosophy but was definitely radical in his explanation of scripture. I guess you can call him a proponent of the power of imagination to shape your reality.

If you are a person who would rather listen than read a book, there are many of Goddard’s lectures that are available on the internet. A quick sampling of just some of the lectures available to you include: How To Use Your Imagination; Live In The End; You Create The Reality You Live In; How To Really Pray; Your Creative Power; How To Feel Your Way Into The Wish Fulfilled. The lectures where he is talking to a physical audience at a lecture hall are the best as he seems to talk a little slower than when he is under time constraints (radio, tv, albums). This guy could make a fortune today as a voiceover artist. When you listen, it is as if you are listening to a kindly professor (with an melifluous English accent no less) in a lecture hall somewhere. Instead of a lecture on engineering or history or mathematics however, you are listening to a lecture about insights on life.

Q: Why bother with this? A: You can immediately take and use to your benefit the concepts put forth by Goddard to make your life better. If you truly commit yourself, you can shape your life how you really want it to be instead of getting stuck in a life, your life, that somehow just doesn’t feel to you like it’s hitting on all cylinders. If you feel that your life could be better than it is now and you have a true desire to do something about it, then, that is why you take the time to hear what he has to say.

Take advantage of these commercial-free lectures. Just sit, chill, and listen. Open the windows of your mind. Some ideas may give you an “aha moment” while others may give you an “I don’t buy that moment”. If you don’t resonate with all the concepts put forth, that’s ok. Take the ones that resonate with you at this juncture of your life and run with them. You’ve got nothing to lose but less than an hour of your time but you’ve potentially got a whole lot to gain.

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Smedley Darlington Butler: True American Hero

On this Veterans Day holiday, it’s a perfect occasion to talk about a true American hero that you have never heard of — Marine Major General Smedley Darlington Butler. He is one of only nineteen badass soldiers who have ever been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor – twice. And he just may have been resposible for saving American democracy.

Butler grew up in West Chester, Pennsylvania and was educated in Quaker schools. He entered the Marines as a teenager and served for thirty-three years, moving up through the ranks to major general. Wounded in combat and a recipient of not one but two Congressional Medals of Honor, Butler retired from the military in 1931 as the youngest, most decorated major general in the Marines.

In 1924, the corruption in the city of Philadelphia was so bad that the mayor asked President Coolidge to release a military general on a leave of absence to fight the corruption as police chief. He sent General Butler who did indeed reduce corruption, so much so that the mayor fired him in 1925. You could almost hear the mayor say in a back room somewhere, “I wanted him to fight corruption, not eliminate it”.

After his retirement, Butler maintained contact and popularity with veterans and was a strong promoter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). He was disgusted at the way that then President Herbert Hoover refused to meet with the 1932 Veterans Bonus March protestors and how Hoover used Army calvary to disperse their campground. Although Butler was a Republican, he campaigned tirelessly against Hoover’s re-election.

In 1934, Butler exposed that he was approached by a middle man for powerful banking, Wall Street and industrial interests. They wanted to gauge his interest in leading a conspiracy (being a front man) to overthrow President Franklin Roosevelt and establish a fascist dictatorship of the sort that was taking place in Germany and Italy at that time. When Butler exposed the plot, it was quickly and quietly dissolved. All the big shots behind it stuck together and called it a hoax and fake news. Congress held hearings on the matter but the puppet masters effectively quashed any subsequent action regarding the plot and it became a forgotten footnote of history.

Throughout the 1930’s, Butler continued to speak out against the big corporate interests who he said actually pulled the strings of the puppet politicians. In his 1935 book, “War Is A Racket”, he wrote, ” I spent thirty three years in active military service ….. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers.”

The military-industrial complex, that was first identified and warned about by President Eisenhower, has now grown to epic proportions as generals and admirals in retirement slide directly from retirement to the boards of giant defense contractors. People of General Butler’s truthfulness, character and honesty are needed now more than ever.

General Smedly Darlington Butler, (1881-1940)— A Man of Remarkable Achievement, Uncompromising Integrity and Rock-Solid Incorruptability — A True American Hero.

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In Love With Autumn

I am one of those people that like the change of seasons. Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter all have their own unique charms and idiosynchrocies. As one season takes a break for nine months, the next season slides in to do its thing for the next three months. Of the four of these lifelong friends however, I confess that I have always been in love with Autumn.

The Cooler Temps. The sunshine and warmth of Summer are nice but for the most part I just barely tolerate it when the heat gets humid and sticky. Ninety degree weather is perfect for some but for me it gets old after a while. When that first snap of cooler Autumn weather arrives, it always quickens the beat of my heart. The brisk air of Autumn fits me like a glove. There is no need to break out the sweaters and coats. I just continue with my short sleeve shirts but now without getting all sweaty. The hot, sticky, humid days have gone. The cold, biting days of winter have not yet arrived. It is the time of the year to enjoy the brisk, Autumn air that makes the leaves dance.

The Leaves. To see all of those universally green leaves change to a rainbow of colors before my eyes never fails to delight me. I love evergreens but the show that the deciduous trees put on every year in Autumn is always worth the price of admission. The explosion of color before dying and dropping to the ground is sort of how I want it to go for me when my time comes — a kind of “last blast” of achievement before my body goes in the ground. Another thing I like about the leaves when they do fall to the ground is that crunchy sound that they make when you walk on them.

Autumn Holidays. Two Autumn holidays within the season that I have always enjoyed are Halloween and Thanksgiving. As a kid, Halloween was great. It was the only way to ever get such a large haul of candy. And back then, there were no snack size candy bars. We got full sizers as well as home made candy and caramel apples. Yum. Thanksgiving to me is the best holiday of the year, hands down. No gift giving…..just thanks giving. Turkey…stuffing…gravy…family…football…pumpkin pie. When we went to my maternal grandparent’s house, there was kielbasi, pierogies, golabki, ham, kapusta, barley and babka. Everybody was in a good mood. A heartfelt Thanksgiving prayer. Taking a walk or throwing around the football after dinner. The greatest holiday ever.

Pumpkins and Apple Cider. Making Jack-O-Lanterns from pumpkins right from the pumpkin patch and of course eating pumpkin pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Fresh pressed mugs of apple cider, both hot and cold, with or without spices. Usually got the cider at a roadside stand near an orchard, where we also got a basket of crunchy winesap apples.

The Houseflies and Mosquitoes Hit The Road. The universally annoying house guest and the vampire of the insect world both go bye-bye in Autumn. Halleluah! I am sure most of you have had the experience hilariously parodied on the tv show Family Guy where you have the window open for the fly to go out and he proceeds to fly everywhere around the window but out, even with you shouting “You SOB, the damn window is open right in front of you. Get out!” Likewise, getting situated in a lawn chair in the back yard in the pre-dusk evening with a cold mug of beer when the mosquito world Count Dracula and his minions decide that all parts of my body is one big juice bar. Autumn means that these irritating critters go elsewhere. Good riddance.

The Lawn Goes Into Hibernation. I actually find that I enjoy mowing the lawn during Spring and Summer. It is good exercise for my arthritic knees. I love my Ego (electric) lawn mower (highly recommended by the way). I recite enjoyable affirmations in my head while I am mowing. With all that said however, it is nice to have a break from mowing the lawn until the Spring.

The Room A/C’s Get Turned Off. I am truly grateful for the coolness that the room A/C’s bring during the Summer but the rooms sure do get nice and quiet when they go off in Autumn. Also, the electric bill goes down as well and the moderate temps mean the heating bills stay low also.

College. To be blunt, high school, for me at least, totally sucked. College however was a completely different matter. I loved my four years in college and of course, Autumn meant a new school year in September. New professors. New courses. New experiences. Another step closer to the diploma. Being on campus in the Autumn was always a great experience.

I have always been in love with Autumn. I will continue to savor however many of them I get to enjoy before my number is called.