Read my latest flash, Venison, at 52|250.

Temporary Internet outages are nothing unusual here at Shengda, especially since the university decided to take over the ISP itself, but the timing of this afternoon’s served as a reminder of the meaning of the season towards which Samhain marks the turning. The growing darkness reduces available stimuli, and the cold drives us inside. It’s a time of hibernation, a time of sleep, but sleep is often misunderstood. It is not a state of inaction but an opportunity for intense internal processes.

And that is the meaning of the season of Samhain.

Today, we humans don’t have the same need for hibernation. Large proportions of our “outside world” are climate-controlled. Streetlights illuminate enough to eliminate our vision of the stars. But still, Oíche Samhna can serve as a reminder to turn away from the external and cultivate what’s within or even just to reorganize what has been brought inside. I’ve been spending far too much time of late seeking outside information and ideas, and my writing has stagnated to an uncomfortable degree because of it.

Back down to dirt, back into the seed
with me

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