P
E R E G R I N E ' S
BOOK
OF DAYS
"The
body is the organ with which
we
remind the world who we are.
Those
who know us give us life.
Those
who remember us make us immortal."
--
Nathan Graham
Samhaine (from the Gaelic, pronounced "sah-vun" or "sow-un")
is one of the four great fire festivals of the Celtic pagans, and is held
on the night of October 31st, and known to most as Hallowe'en -- the Holy
Evening. It was believed among said pagans that the world of the
dead was an actual world, distinct from ours, but near it. They knew well
that those who have passed on return to this world betimes, and "haunt"
those who loved or hated them. Samhaine, the pagans believed, was
the time "when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is
the thinnest."
At Samhaine, it is traditional to bring to bear your memories of those
who have departed your life -- remember them, keep them immortal for as
long as possible. For truly, despite what any Master says, true immortality
is to be found only in memory...how long will the world remember you, when
you have forgotten yourself?
THOSE
WHO HAVE PASSED FROM MY WORLD
-
KIER
"Dawnstar" WILCOX --
He was the most shining of the sun-folk, a beam of golden light that was
skewed early in its travels and made the best of being cast into a world
that was dark at worst and grey at best. He taught me that when you
have something you need to do for your own good, nothing should stop that,
not even love for others, because the best you can do for anyone is to
be the most yourself that you can be. I will always remember
late nights and snickers coffee at the Paragon, the look in his eyes when
he took us to the mountain he had finally bought, the dreams of light and
joy he had envisioned for his future.
-
MICHAEL
DALE -- He
was my best friend's father, and his passing was sudden and traumatic.
He had his highs and lows as a human being, but he took a life of mistakes
and negativity and seemed to have made the best of it, quietly and humbly
walking his path. He had a profound influence on his son in many
ways, and that influence lives on and likely will for some time.
-
BONNIE
SWEETLAND -- She was a teacher, and was
the first authority in my life that really made it clear that she was a
person as well, with typical faults, opinions, and quirks. She smoked
too much, and never really was healthy since I knew her. I never
knew her that well, but she sent me birthday cards long after I graduated;
she just was that way with her students. I didn't attend her funeral,
her death having made me realize that hers was one life at whose end I
had no place, and that is neither good nor bad.
-
LINDSAY
STARLING -- The first of my close friends
to leave due to illness. Lindsay was a kind and motherly soul who
underwent many trials in her life, losing a son to the same ex-husband
who shot and nearly crippled her, moving from California all over the country
to end up in northern Colorado. She fought lymphatic cancer during
most of the time that I knew her, having terrible bouts and then making
amazing recoveries with careful diets; she never had much money, which
is what eventually made things the worst for her, when she lost her job
and had no insurance...but she always gave to others what she could, providing
housing for two or three of her friends at a time, filling in as a surrogate
mother to a friend who had never really had a mother-figure, giving out
plenty of advice earned through experience. I believe that when she
disappeared, it was to save us all from any further emotional wear caused
by her ups and downs, times of hope followed by despair... she walked wounded
but stood tall, and as a follower of Christ she gave that faith a new shine
in my eyes. May she walk in love and peace wherever she may go.
BACK
TO THE CHURCH OF SELF...