Dear friends,
Today is All Saints’ Day. The history of this day is interesting. It is where we get our practice of Halloween, or All Hallows’ Eve. It was known to be an extremely holy day, where the veil separating heaven and earth grows increasingly more thin. I think of the beautiful movie, Coco, which did not receive a lot of rave reviews when it came out, but it really is a powerful and gorgeous movie. In Coco, they are celebrating the Day of the Dead, which is All Saints’ Day, and the story goes with the tradition that families of the living must keep an altar candle lit for their loved ones who have died. If they don’t, then their deceased loved ones cannot cross the bridge from the dead into the living to visit for the day. The music and imagery in this film are breathtaking. The bridge connecting the two words is a bridge of flowers, and that is just one image of what this day is.
It has morphed over history, but I think it is fascinating how we decorate our yards and houses with Halloween imagery, but The Day of the Dead is forgotten. We miss the creation of the beautiful bridge because we are too busy dressing up in costumes to trick the evil spirits that are more active on October 31st in preparation for a deeply holy day breaking at dawn (this is why we dress up for Halloween, so we don’t get possessed by the spirits looking for a safe home).
This is a Holy Day. The Irish call places where it seems like heaven and earth meet, “thin places.” Well, this is a thin day, but it’s also a Tuesday. While we live in this thin day, we still have school to attend, jobs to work, and traffic to battle. For me, there are holier places than others, and holier days. But I have also found that there are things I can do to open my spirit and open my eyes to days like today. Sitting in silence is one of them (which is hard to do with three children, two barking dogs, and devices constantly vying for my attention). But when I do, I feel like I can see the beautiful bridge being built, and as I go through the day, irritating moments become opportunities for spiritual practice. Then, a lot of days become thin days.
Peace,
Jordan