Halloween Energy

A rustle comes from the bushes, spooking the sleeping bats above, sending them into a flying frenzy.

From the distraction, fog creeps out from around the corner ushering in the scarecrow. As the sun fades, he makes his way to his perch to watch over his pumpkin patch.

A once sleepy and quiet plot stirs. Faces emerge out of the dark fog. Who might wander into the unsuspecting field of gourds? What mischief is tangled throughout the vines?

The inquisitive owl joins the scarecrow. And curiosity has gotten the best of the cat.

Even though the old fence stands sentinel, the ghosts of visitors past slip through to join the haunt.

___

I sometimes follow my own advice, and that’s where that story comes from.

In my last blog, we discussed self awareness. I review and practice, personally, at least every year-end; it’s easy to remember to do it then. Last I reviewed, I felt as though I was missing something. Those somethings were not celebrating Halloween as I used to as this is my favorite and it fell through the cracks the last few years, and not getting my hands dirty while my work shed has been overrun by spiders as I enjoyed designing and building stuff.

So, I changed that and mashed two potatoes with one fork. Let’s build stuff for Halloween!

Let me tell you, I got my energy back this year. I started my projects with a brainstorm of ideas, and those ideas led to the story above. This story led to what I was building, how it would all layout, and how it would make the trick-or-treaters feel as they creep by. That led to the designs and supplies and… well, you know… project stuff.

Life is busy, but finding an afternoon here and there was easy the more I designed and built. It was awesome getting back to the activities that drive me. And the result, pretty good, if I do say so myself.

I’ve got so many more ideas, designs, and projects I want to add, but all that means is I’ll never have that missing-something-feeling anytime soon.

And that’s what I want you all to take away from this experience: fill in your gaps.

• Take time and ask yourself if you are living to your fullest
• What haven’t you done in a while that you used to love doing
• What’s something that you miss that brought you joy
• Plan out how you will add that or those things back into your life
• Do you have an afternoon or evening once a month
• What can you remove that no longer serves you to open up more time
• Then do it
• Spend time on your joyful activities
• Bring in your friends and family to join along with you

Getting back to the things that drive and energize you makes everything else so much more tolerable. It’s far easier to take care of chores and weekly must-dos when you have something you look forward to and want to be ready for.

Happy Halloween!