Monday, October 31, 2016

Happy Halloween!

The Mystery within...
I had recently checked the huge bowl of candy I had set out and saw there were only a few pieces left.  Easily over a hundred ghosts, goblins and witches had come by already but the parade was now thinning.  I hoped I would have enough candy before Trick or Treat would soon end for another year.  So I went in the house and closed the door.  When the doorbell rang two small and identical voices, in twin bodies, not more than three feet tall, enthusiastically burst out with “Happy Halloween!”  Their eyes were bright with excitement, as they looked up at me in their matching red sequined outfits that sparkled in the porch light.  I saw the bowl was empty.  My heart sank. 

Of all the Trick or Treaters that came bye those two would be the last ones I would want to disappoint.  With a heavy heart and an ache in my voice I said most sincerely, “Oh, I am so sorry but that great big bowl was full to the top and now it is empty.” Those two identical princesses never stopped smiling and said in unison, “It’s okay.”  And in the nearby shadows I heard their parents say softly, “Really, its okay.” 

I brought in the empty bowl and turned off the porch light.  Then I remembered, too late, that I had two identical candy bars in my kitchen cupboard and initially wished I had given them to the twins.  But the more I thought about it I realized that I was the one who was really treated that night with consoling empathy from two smiling angels.  I now realize it was the perfect ending to another Halloween.

The word “Halloween” means “hallowed evening” or “holy evening.”  Many cultures believe boundaries thin between this world and the next when harvests end and winter begins.  It must be the interplay between darkness and light that blurs boundaries.  It is why this season is my favorite time of the year.   


“What if we could all be the recipient or the bestowers of consoling empathy more often?” 

No comments :

Comment