Winter’s coming. It’s the time of year when our ancient brain has us wanting to hunker down, make soup, put up jam, stack cord wood, and cozy up to the fireplace, leaving the cold wind outside to rail against the darkness. It’s the time of year when we pull closer to our friends and families, or start looking for someone new to curl up with.

In the colder climes, you batten down the hatches, put the winter comforter on the bed, and get the wool sweaters out of moth balls. Here in sunny California, we do the same thing, but we have to take the sweaters off when we go outside, it’s still warm out there. Nevertheless, we want to cozy up with steaming drinks and hearty stories the same as everyone else.

As the days get shorter, going inside the house is a natural extension to going inside yourself. It’s a time of introspection and intimacy with one’s heart, mind, and spirit. It is this way in every culture, as the holidays we celebrate demonstrate: Halloween, All Soul’s Eve, All Saint’s Day, the Day of the Dead (Día del Muerte), Succoth. The time of year when according to ancient lore, the "Spirit world" is closer to the "material world" than at any other. The time when the Greek mother goddess Demeter begins her lament against Persephone’s descent into the underworld of the dead and damned, and makes all the green of the earth go yellow, then red, orange, and brown. To the Mother, a mournful time, but to her Daughter, it’s wondrously soulful. And we can choose to follow her blithe spirit, becoming one with the darkness, the shadow within, the void for a few months each year. It’s easy, even comforting, some might say ecstatic when you are safe inside your soulful home.

Soulful Home? Think about all the places you’ve lived — all the way back to childhood. Do you remember a home at any point that greeted you with love every time you came home, as if it were thrilled to see you — even if you lived alone? A cozy place that feels the kind of warm that transcends lifestyle, market value, and design.

>>> Click to Continue Reading "Emotional · Spiritual · Soulful · House"

© Copyright Kathryn L. Robyn. This article was originally published at our website, SoulfulLiving.com, in November 2002, as part of Soulful Living's "Soulful Home" Issue.

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