It was a beautiful afternoon in late October when a friend and I went to a Dia de los Muertos festival.  Kids were making big paper marigolds (the flowers of the dead as I learned later), many kids and adults were all dressed up and had skulls painted on their faces, and the smell of grilling meat from a vendor’s stall made my mouth water.

We happened to catch a traditional Aztec dance that extended an invitation to adult spirits and angelitos (spirits of children who had died) to join in the celebration of life.  The traditional 3-day event invites the spirits to be a part of the community, with decorating graves, making altars, feasting & dancing.

Seeing the skeletons and skulls made me wonder how we might welcome the skeletons we have in our closets…  Those unwanted, shadow aspects of ourselves, those memories and events we have exiled from our day-to-day life and banished to graveyards of our fear & shame.

One of those shadows came up for me recently.  I was upset by what appeared to me to be someone’s untrustworthiness – and that’s a sure sign to look for the same quality in me.  Oh yeah – there it was – a fine-looking skeleton in my closet!

But with using a process I share with my clients I was able to welcome and honor what I learned and skills I gained through working hard at being trustworthy.  I realized I can trust God / Source and myself no matter what things look like and I can choose to forgive myself and others in a deeper way.

So it makes me wonder – How can we celebrate these shadows and skeletons?  How might we welcome, and even give thanks for all of our experiences on this amazing journey of life?  To set places at the table for those shadows of failure, loser, stupid, uppity, and be thankful for their gifts of humility, persistence, learning and power?!

Who’s at your Thanksgiving gathering?  What gifts might be hiding in the closet along with the skeletons?

Just like we can’t numb our feelings selectively – we numb the good feelings right along with the bad – so we can’t just accept the “good” parts of ourselves and experience full self-acceptance.

What about those shadows that you’d rather not acknowledge?  It may be time to bring them back into your inner world community with acceptance and gratitude.

I don’t recommend doing this kind of closet excavation alone.  To learn more about how Soul Gardening would support you in welcoming all of you to the table, click here: [email protected] to send me an email requesting a complimentary phone session.

Here’s to celebrating with gratitude for all we’ve learned and for all the wonders of this life.

Blessings,

Lois

PS Click here [email protected] to schedule that phone call to explore how Soul Gardening™ would support you in some closet clearing!