The Castaway's Journeys

Too many colours blind the eye. Too many tones deafen the ear. Too many flavours dull the taste. Too many thoughts weaken the mind. Too many desires wither the heart. The Master observes the world but trusts his inner vision. He allows things to come and go. His heart is as open as the sky -Tao te ching, ch 12. The idea of giving things up and going without is something most of us push against. After all; I've earned it. I worked hard enough for it, it's convenient, I'd just rather not wait when I can have it now.  In the west most of us have a better standard of living than the kings of the middle ages and millenia past, Minus perhaps the notoriety and power. OK maybe your castle is a bit smaller but we all have more than anyone could need and often just a click away. The variety of food in the supermarket, the choice of clothes, leisure activities, careers, holiday destinations… how many of the old kings managed to get away to Mexico, Thailand or Australia for

Samhain was Halloween.  The Sun goes down on a misty evening, There’s a chill in the air and the faint smell of wood smoke as darkness falls. Somewhere in the distance a dog howls and the moon looks out from between the clouds, through the mist it appears ringed by a faint halo. It’s Halloween in Austrian backcountry and it's quiet almost erile so. It wasn’t always called Halloween. That name is in fact quite young and is a contraction of "All Hallows' evening, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve. A Christian festival remembering the dead, in this case saints (hallows), martyrs. Some would pray for their souls, believing they could assist their passage to heaven. Others just to honor the recently departed. Over a thousand years ago this Idea emerged from the Roman church and spread throughout europe. This idea of honouring a special class of dead christians began to run parallel with a different celebration that seems to be tied in particular to celtic