What a glorious, blazing Autumn day! Come and sit with me, my Friend. The air's salt tang and the scintillating, sparkling foliage rouse the senses and gladden my heart! Days like this are a marvel of your work and make me smile!

Only apple tea will do today! A bite of cold and juicy Macintosh this week put an abrupt end to summer. The lazy days tussle and tilt with oncoming chill only briefly before we find ourselves clutching steaming mugs to warm our fingers. Change is once again in the air along with the pungent fragrance of your Earth.

Speaking of change, what do you think of my haircut? Oh my!!! Yes, I was rather shocked myself!! All my life, I have been identified by my hair...by its flagrant red and bushy, crazy halo. It's flamboyance made me what I "was", gave me a persona, made me memorable. It clearly labeled me. Hippie, EarthMother, Woman, Female and Feminine. Young. Yes, I admit, as I approach middle age, it became my last banner proclaiming my youth.

Then came the Scourge of Womankind...a bad hair day in my new neighborhood. I had no old favorite hairdresser available and was forced to take my chances at the Mall. Aggghhh! At the hands of an impeccably beautiful and fast-talking Delilah, I was shorn in less time than it takes to pluck a chicken. Like Samson, my identity, my personal strength was GONE!!! Who am I??? What am I? In the mirror I saw.........my mother.

Now, Goddess, Friend, Mother mine...as a Woman, You understand Transitions. Cycles and change and patient acceptance of evolution are part and parcel of Womanhood. As we travel Your path from initiate to priestess to wisewoman and crone, our growth is inevitable. Sometimes slowly, sometimes at a pleasant pace, we travel. My Dear Friend, sometimes, though, change hits us square in the face, not to be denied, like an oncoming truck. 

As an enlightened woman, I restrained my urge to give Delilah a good kick in the kneecaps. On the ride home, I realized that, as usual, You have provided me with perfect opportunity to make great strides along my Path. I am forced to look at what makes me "me".

I took stock. Do I still feel the same inside? Yes. Is my heart still full of joy and appreciation for the beautiful things in my life, my home, my family, my beloved? Certainly! Has my fundamental understanding of why I am in this world at this time and place changed? Of course not. 

Clearly, I "am" not my hair. Well, then, hey! Perhaps I "am" also not my wrinkles, my flabby arms, my cellulite. Could it be that those things that scream "old" into my mirror are not "me" or at the very least, are not bad. My spiritual self remains intact. My love for You as my Goddess is not diminished. The sweet inner Self that I have learned to honor and respect over the years has not disappeared...Poof....I still love "me". With or without my hair, with or without my double chin and decreasing vision and suffering the effects of our Friend/Enemy, the eternal force of Gravity, I remain, truly "me".

You have, in Your wisdom, provided us humans with very interesting and diverse packaging. Our young bodies rejoice in the freedom and innocence of painfree, healthy motion and our hearts and emotions run freely, effervescent and enthusiastic. In the course of living life, we use our bodies up, bit by bit. In return, we gain life experience, understanding, compassion and, with any luck at all, some modicum of Your wisdom. 

My Earthly mother, My Lady, is not such a bad being to find when I look in that mirror. She has weathered a long relationship, five children, her own aging mother, a spectacular career. She is vital, clear and enthusiastic, a fountain of unconditional love. She has been my friend and I have seen You in her often. I bless you and thank you for her always! 

Once more, Love, my lesson from You was perfectly packaged. I wonder if that delightful Delilah knew what changes she wrought upon wielding her mighty Razor!! 

For dropping by, for sharing tea, wisdom, love and a shoulder, I thank you! See you next time!