I love this time of year. The trees are at their most splendid. The harvest is coming in, and there are lots of delicious food to make, eat, and share.

The wine is being bottled and coming mature, and there is lots of light despite the shortening days for those who know where to look.

Autumn and Halloween also give me an opportunity to revisit some of my darker, but perhaps most humorous pieces. Yes, I like my humor cynical and black. That which can be made funny becomes ridiculous or in the very least less terrifying.

And so I embrace this season and its dark-side fully, but with a tickle in mind. I think of it as supplying my own contrast; and then being an alchemist and turning it into gold for the spirit. Take that Rumpelstiltskin because you ain't taking my joie de vivre no matter how much ill-woven gold you throw at me. Not too mention, straw adds a natural element to seasonal decor. No need to turn it into something it isn't. Enjoy what is offered naturally. Warmth and a place to rest your weary, over-worked bones.

Don't be our stressed out Schroedinger cat in Roll the Bones because then the comfort becomes a knife to cut you with. Anything viewed as not enough or something to escape from becomes a source of suffering for the psyche. Remember ... no one wants to share a box with a bleeding cat. It's messy.

Existence is a box in a way. Without it there is no truly knowing eternity, experiencing the ever-expanding Universe. We need to look at it small bits. You can't experience everything all at once and truly experience it. So slow down and enjoy the season and the roll of the bones will be a soft one, full of fun and humor and not blind and bitter felines nursing fractures in the dark.

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Words and Images are my own. Roll the Bones is published in Monsters, Avatars, and Angels. Monsters, Avatars, and Angels is available in paperback or digital through amazon and your local libraries and bookstores. Click on any title below to further explore and support my writing.