October Thoughts Day 23: Free to Be

October is an odd month, which is probably why I like it so much. It is a study in duality and is all about imagination and perception. One can see beauty and not fully appreciate it. One can participate in Halloween and not really enjoy it. Do you like scary, sweet or a little of both? October is all about mindset. It is about opening up oneself to experience wonder. It is the precursor to Christmas. In October time slows down and you have a chance to look at the world in awe. You have the opportunity to reflect on what you have and reminisce on days gone by as you prepare to hunker down before for the long cold winter months.

October is where you can get caught up in flights of fancy. Maybe there are fairies in the woods, perhaps that sound really wasn’t just floorboard settling, there probably is a Great Pumpkin. October gives you permission to dress up and act silly, and to celebrate the ending of the year a little bit early. October is all the best parts of the other months wrapped into one.

Yesterday I got to tour the leaves of New England by private plane with a billionaire. Ok, it was in a movie, but I got to suspend my disbelief for two hours and go on that flight in my mind. I read a compilation of scary stories from around the world and got to chat with citizens of many different countries and hear what their folk tales were. Because of my overactive imagination, last night I pulled the blankets up tight over my head and didn’t come out of my sheet cocoon till the morning light because I scared myself silly over something called a Taileypo. I love that a three minute short story about Appalachian apparitions can scare the stuffing out of me.

I love that about October. In October there is permission to do almost anything. You can sunbathe or ski, visit farmers markets or sit by the fireside. You can dress up as a cute bunny or the most ghoulish zombie the world has ever seen. There are books about cozy things and short stories that make your hair curl. There are cider parties and holiday bazaars, pumpkin patches and corn mazes. Yes, October is a little bit of everything and I wouldn’t have it any other way.