Changing Seasons
05 November 2025
05 November 2025
Halloween has always been a special time for me. When I was a kid in Dublin we went from door to door, disguised to protect ourselves from the nasty spirits, we called out ‘Help The Halloween Party’.. I only heard of trick or treat from American films many years later and now it seems that in Ireland this has taken over.
What has that to do with The Healing Path and recovery? Part of the philosophy here I want to encourage is an awareness of the seasons, and the old celtic fesitvals help with this. I believe Halloween was a moment of reflection that reminded people of the impermanence of things. The cycle of life, everything dying back and preparing for winter, lends itself to stories around Halloween. My pathfinders are not here any longer in The Healing Path for the moment and my daughter was here this week. We liased with the local farmer and got to milk the cows and feed the calves. Petting the big animals was a bonus for my daughter. We also got to hang out with some goats ponys and horses. It was a beautiful week of transforming the pumpkins into puree and cubes for storing in the freezer. Our neighbours came and carved small gourds or pumpkins and I explianed a bit about the Irish traditional Halloween. One kid sat back in his chair and exclaimed it was his best Halloween ever. Therefore mission accomplished.
8 months now I have been here in this house. I have had 6 overnighters 2 of which have been pathfinders and 2 has been a fellow AAer. One of the pathfinders was here for a short week and the other for 2 months. The simple approach of prayer and meditation to start and end the day, 2 hours of work and 2 hours of study is something that seems to be working. I have slowed down things a little bit because managing a pathfinder alone detracts from my own path to get a Masters in Psychology. So there is a balancing act.
A group of men will be here in March for a fellowship weekend which I am really looking forward to.
The job for November … or at least the most important job is to insulate the roof as best I can. I am definitely loosing heat now the stair case is installed. The insulation is recycled cotton and I still need to purchase the vapour barrier. As usual when it’s a job I haven’t done alone before, it’s intimidating. But still if nothing else, the rotten fiber glass has to be removed so the work of insulation is less tedious and annoying.
It seems that life here on the edge of civilisation, attempting to live a permaculture ecological spiritual life style is a non stop life. There is always something to be done. I have managed to train myself to not panic or stress. If I get a task completed great, and if I dont there is always another day. Now the ride on tractor lawnmower has been repaired, things are greatly improved. I am conscious how unkempt the front of the house looks and it’s a concern for the neighbours and security. However I remind myself for the moment I am alone, I can only do so much and what others are thinking is none of my business.
I believe my long stay pathfinder is still sober and working a program and while it was challenging to be one on one, I felt vindicated that the choice of life actually worked. Apparently they have learned enough here to help them move foward and that is the goal of it all.
So if you are into ecology, permaculture, recovery, and you want to be a guide here in the project, come hang out for a while and see what you can give, you might get a whole lot in return.
Thanks for reading
Collie….
September 22, 2025 