Monday, August 22, 2005
Harvest Time!
Yes, it's that time of the year again: Harvest Time! There are many symbolic and spiritual ways of explaining how and why this time of the year is so full of abundant activity for so many of us. For me though, as usual, the Wheel of the Year provides an excellent narrative of the comings and goings of the seasons.
At the Summer Solstice, a.k.a. Midsummer, a.k.a Litha, the sun reached the peak of its yearly cycle. On the longest day of the year, the sun shone brightly on our lives and our most important life projects, giving them that last bit of light that they needed to come to fruition.
Now, the Harvest has begun. At Lughnasadh, a.k.a. Lammas, the fruits of our labor have ripened and are ready to harvest. This is the first of three harvests, and the bulk of the crop is still yet to come. But especially for those of us living in university towns, the sudden influx of a new and returning crop of students fills our lives with the abundant energy of the harvest.
In my own life, one of the biggest manifestations of the new harvest has been my move to a new home. On August 1, I moved into a two-bedroom house with an acquaintence who I knew from the Student Environmental Center and other community organizations. This time in my life has been so hectic that at times I thought I couldn't bear it! Moving, unpacking, working extra hours, and trying in vain to work on other aspects of my life often left me exhausted and exasperated.
But now, especially after a wonderful housewarming party attended by over a dozen friends and loved ones, I feel like I've completed the first harvest and am gearing up for the second. This year's first harvest was a time for taking all of the personal process work I've done over the past months and creating a new foundation for my life -- not just a new location, but also a new grounding in this life that is free of some of the illusions and sufferings of the past. I'm reminded of a blog entry I made long ago about the Six Millions Dollar Treesong! Better, stronger, faster... and to throw in a bit of Superman here... able to release pernicious attachments in a single bound!
So, that was the first harvest. Now, the second harvest will involve more of my professional and public life -- my website, my writing, my public speaking, my community involvement.
The biggest news of the day for treesong.org is that the website will be undergoing a major overhaul! I haven't worked out all of the details yet, but I've decided to use freeware "content management software" for most if not all aspects of treesong.org in the very near future. It's been fun tinkering with my own unique PHP code, but this software will enable me to do much more updating more quickly using web-based interfaces rather than direct editing of any code. I'll probably still tinker with the code of these new softwares, and I'll definitely still tinker with the styles to create a new incarnation of treesong.org's unique look and feel. However, this major update will allow this site to do more of what it's already doing in a more tidy and current manner.
And guess what? The future treesong.org will be more interactive, meaning that YOU will have more ability to respond to the content here and even generate your own!
Needless to say, I've got a lot of work to do. And that's just the web-related stuff! The bulk of my "second harvest work" isn't related to my website at all. It's related to my shifting relationship with my work life at the Co-op, my career as an author, and my involvement in the community. Stayed tuned for more news as it develops -- and don't be surprised if you see a whole new layout here soon!
2 comments
At the Summer Solstice, a.k.a. Midsummer, a.k.a Litha, the sun reached the peak of its yearly cycle. On the longest day of the year, the sun shone brightly on our lives and our most important life projects, giving them that last bit of light that they needed to come to fruition.
Now, the Harvest has begun. At Lughnasadh, a.k.a. Lammas, the fruits of our labor have ripened and are ready to harvest. This is the first of three harvests, and the bulk of the crop is still yet to come. But especially for those of us living in university towns, the sudden influx of a new and returning crop of students fills our lives with the abundant energy of the harvest.
In my own life, one of the biggest manifestations of the new harvest has been my move to a new home. On August 1, I moved into a two-bedroom house with an acquaintence who I knew from the Student Environmental Center and other community organizations. This time in my life has been so hectic that at times I thought I couldn't bear it! Moving, unpacking, working extra hours, and trying in vain to work on other aspects of my life often left me exhausted and exasperated.
But now, especially after a wonderful housewarming party attended by over a dozen friends and loved ones, I feel like I've completed the first harvest and am gearing up for the second. This year's first harvest was a time for taking all of the personal process work I've done over the past months and creating a new foundation for my life -- not just a new location, but also a new grounding in this life that is free of some of the illusions and sufferings of the past. I'm reminded of a blog entry I made long ago about the Six Millions Dollar Treesong! Better, stronger, faster... and to throw in a bit of Superman here... able to release pernicious attachments in a single bound!
So, that was the first harvest. Now, the second harvest will involve more of my professional and public life -- my website, my writing, my public speaking, my community involvement.
The biggest news of the day for treesong.org is that the website will be undergoing a major overhaul! I haven't worked out all of the details yet, but I've decided to use freeware "content management software" for most if not all aspects of treesong.org in the very near future. It's been fun tinkering with my own unique PHP code, but this software will enable me to do much more updating more quickly using web-based interfaces rather than direct editing of any code. I'll probably still tinker with the code of these new softwares, and I'll definitely still tinker with the styles to create a new incarnation of treesong.org's unique look and feel. However, this major update will allow this site to do more of what it's already doing in a more tidy and current manner.
And guess what? The future treesong.org will be more interactive, meaning that YOU will have more ability to respond to the content here and even generate your own!
Needless to say, I've got a lot of work to do. And that's just the web-related stuff! The bulk of my "second harvest work" isn't related to my website at all. It's related to my shifting relationship with my work life at the Co-op, my career as an author, and my involvement in the community. Stayed tuned for more news as it develops -- and don't be surprised if you see a whole new layout here soon!
2 comments
