This year has been especially devastating to the world because of all the useless deaths caused by hate for one reason or another.
By Rebecca Nidey
Everything I Need To Know I Learned In A Haunted House
Those who have perpetrated those fatalities seem to have no regard for the lives of others; considering them to be only collateral damage deserving of the destruction simply because of a difference in beliefs or a grudge at the world. Besides the deaths, there are injuries to others who were present, as well as the pain caused to all who consider the inhabitants of this world to be their family. It’s as if the natural balance of the world has been knocked askew.
Many people seem to be passing from body into spirit throughout the world in the recent past and that includes my own little corner of Earth. Anyone who has read my columns or knows me also has heard that I have been employed at a small hospital for over 41 years. In those decades I’ve seen a lot of lives start and finish within those walls and in my circle of acquaintances. It’s just the rhythm of nature, the tide of lives flowing in and out.
I’ve often marveled at how a person’s life is so like the seasons experienced by the Earth. When we are born, everything is new and green. The world turns into a beautiful and inviting place to explore. We encounter each new event in life as an adventure with great enthusiasm or trepidation. Several of my co-workers have youngsters who just turned one and I am always thrilled when they share the new accomplishments of their children. My great nieces and nephews also make me look at the world through their eyes and see it anew and I know that their parents and other family and friends share that view also. Too often the awareness of the beauty of the earth is dulled by the everyday hustle and bustle and we need the reminders of the joy of new accomplishments that often shines in the eyes of a child.
Late spring turns into summer and the world continues its growth spurt. Everything continues to be green but there is a sense of juices flowing and an almost adolescent surge of hormones. Crops, trees, and vines continue growing and prepare to bear fruit after they mature on the schedule that the Earth has programmed into their DNA. Living in Illinois, I seem to be surrounded by corn fields and on some days, I swear you can hear the stalks growing as you walk past them just as the children in our lives who once reached up to us to be held now have topped us in height. Once again, the subtle rhythm of life continues, but at a faster tempo.
Late summer starts slowing into fall and everything starts to mature. The pace of life changes to a quieter measure as the colors of nature change and leaves start falling. I am very aware of that as my life starts the season of fall and my hair turns gray. The fruits of the earth are now becoming ripe and ready for harvest and the movement of time seems to be slower and more deliberate. Once again, I can attest to the slower progress I seem to make now-a-days! However, the change in speed is good as it gives a person time to look around and see the beauty of both the earth’s and our own accomplishments. The world may look like it is wearing a different wardrobe but it is still the mother that nourishes us all.
Somehow the season changes from fall to winter, often slipping up on us suddenly and catching us unaware. Mother Earth’s wardrobe turns to drab shades of gray and black with an occasional coat of white. Sap slows in the flora and fauna as if the pulse of the world is diminishing for a good night’s sleep. The hospital I am employed with has a long term care unit attached with a varying population of mostly elderly residents. Their lives have customarily slowed to a turtle’s pace as they enter the winter of their lives. However, just like the earth, they still have the same core. If you were an archaeologist exploring the different layers of their past you would find bits and pieces of their history just as you would if digging into the earth.
Just as Mother Nature sometimes has disruptions in the natural order of its cycle, the seasons of our lives become unbalanced by a death. Just as a storm can destroy a crop, an illness or injury can end a life very early. When the rains come too strongly and the fields flood, or winter hangs on too long and the crops are destroyed before they have had time to mature, the natural order of the seasons is fractured. The premature death of an infant, child or young adult most certainly throws off the balance of a family and others who care for them. Even the death of someone in the fall of their life is abnormal and seems against nature.
I did not know any of those killed in recent shootings around the world but there were quite a few in my immediate area who have passed recently. Some were way too young, a few deaths were expected because of age or illness, but even they will be mourned. As I sat this weekend thinking, praying and grieving a bit I stumbled across a beautiful song that brought some comfort and meaning.
“Bluebonnets (Julia’s Song)” was written by a country artist named Aaron Watson as a memorial to his daughter who died shortly after her birth. The lyrics are simple and from his heart which is where his daughter still lives. In this song, Mr. Watson talks about wishing his Grandma could kiss his face and he could crawl in Grandpa’s lap for a nap but “one day I turned around-leaves are fallin’, fallin’ down-those fields were bare and brown and they were gone.” The following is an excerpt from his song:
“Long gone like bluebonnets in the spring
We’re only here for a little while
It’s beautiful and bittersweet
So make the most of every mile
So pack light and love heavy
Give it your heart and soul, so in the end
You won’t regret one thing
Life is like bluebonnets in the spring
There’s so much I can’t explain
Such as gravity and pain
Still I remain, blindfolded and full of faith
I kissed my angel girl goodbye
Still can’t help but wonder why
But I believe I’ll see her again someday
Life can be filled full of sorrow
Time is something you can’t borrow
So love like there’s no tomorrow
Because today could be the day
Thank you, Aaron Watson for writing this song that showed the love between the lines of grief and the joy in a life too brief.
To those of you who are wondering how a column about the paranormal seemed to stray into such philosophical territory I want to remind you of one of the theories behind possible hauntings. It has often been thought that one of the causes of a spirit lingering is that there was unfinished business and unsaid words. In honor of little Julia, Aaron’s Angel Girl, and all those we love who have passed into spirit, I will issue this challenge (I know-I always assign homework).
Truly life is beautiful even when it is bittersweet but pack light and love heavy, give it all your heart and soul and in the end you won’t regret a thing.
About the Author:
Through her work on the investigative team for the Crawford County Illinois Ghost Hunters, Rebecca Nidey has an understanding of the paranormal, spiritual, and metaphysical worlds and how they work together.
Rebecca has trained in the Healing Touch technique (a form of energy healing). She is a certified Psychic Medium trained by Belle Salisbury, and she is a certified Paranormal Researcher.
Rebecca is the associate editor for Bellesprit Magazine and also writes a column titled Everything I Need To Know I Learned In A Haunted House. She has been a co-host of several radio programs for the Haunted Voices Radio Network and HeyZ Radio Network highlighting the Paranormal, metaphysical and literary fields.
To learn more about Rebecca or to schedule a reading you can contact her at https://www.facebook.com/rebecca.nidey.
