Gathering the Gifts of This Year

From My Heart to Yours

October has always felt like a month of gathering. We gather pumpkins and apples. We bring out the fall wreaths. We begin spending a little more time at home as the days grow shorter and the seasons begin to change. But October also offers us another kind of gathering. It gives us an opportunity to gather the wisdom of everything we have lived through this year.

Before we become focused on what remains unfinished, what we still need to accomplish, or what we wish had gone differently, I invite you to pause for a moment and look at what you have already carried. What have you learned about your strength? What has your heart survived? What parts of you have awakened? What have you released? What have you become?

For me, I have learned so much since Gerard passed. Not only about death and dying, but about myself. You have to take the time to reflect on these things. To sit quietly. To meditate. To allow yourself to look at what has happened and what it has taught you.

I have learned that I have more strength than I ever realized. And the emotional strength has been even greater. When difficult things happen in our lives, we have a choice. We can keep moving forward, or we can stop living our lives. And stopping doesn't help anyone. It doesn't change what happened, and it doesn't honor the life that is still here.

My heart survived one of the most painful experiences of my life. Through that experience, I feel I have awakened from some of the illusion of this Earth. I have gained a clearer understanding of what is important and what isn't. Sometimes it takes loss to bring that clarity.

Not every harvest is visible. Some of our greatest growth takes place quietly, beneath the surface. We may not even recognize it while it is happening, but the seeds have been planted. They are growing in ways we cannot always see. This October, I invite you to honor your inner harvest. Gather the lessons. Gather the strength. Gather the love. Gather the wisdom. And trust that every seed of love you have planted is still growing.

This Month's Rose Reflection: The Wisdom of Release

A rose does not cling to every petal forever. When its season of blooming is complete, it releases each petal with grace, trusting the wisdom of its own natural rhythm.

October invites us to practice this same sacred surrender. What are you still holding because it once felt safe, familiar, or necessary? Perhaps it is an old belief, a responsibility that no longer belongs to you, a relationship that has changed, or perhaps it is a version of yourself that you have already outgrown.

Letting go does not mean that something was unimportant. It means we honor what it gave us while allowing its form to change. The love remains. The wisdom remains. The beauty remains woven into who we are.

This month, imagine placing whatever you are ready to release into the center of a rose. Let its petals hold it gently. And when you are ready, say: “I bless what has been. I release what is complete. I trust what is becoming.”

You don't have to force yourself to let go. Sometimes release happens naturally when we finally give ourselves permission to stop holding so tightly. Trust your own rhythm.

Behind the Scenes: Creating an Altar

Creating an altar can be a beautiful way to create sacred space in your everyday life. An altar gives us a place to pause, reconnect, and listen. It becomes a visible reminder that the Divine is present in our lives, even in the ordinary moments.

Your altar does not have to look a certain way. It might hold a candle, a rose, meaningful objects, crystals, photographs of loved ones, or anything that carries significance for you. What matters is what it means to you.

When we sit before our altar, even for a few quiet moments, we step away from the noise of the outside world and return to our hearts and our connection with Spirit. It becomes a place where we can reflect, pray, remember, and simply be.

Sometimes, simply creating the space is enough to remind us to slow down and listen.

A Blessing for Joy

As we move through this season of gathering and release, I want to leave you with a blessing for joy.

May joy find you in the ordinary moments. May you notice the warmth of the sunlight, the sound of laughter, the beauty of a flower, and the loving presence of those around you.

May joy become part of your healing. May it be a sacred light that reminds you that life is still reaching for you.

Joy does not erase what you have endured. It does not ask you to forget the difficult seasons or pretend they didn't happen. Joy simply becomes another part of the journey. A gentle light that helps lead you forward.

This month, gather what this year has taught you. Honor what you have survived. Release what is complete. And make room for what is becoming.

With love,

Brenda View Brenda's Video Message Here