Winter has "officially" arrived

OK so the clocks went back but the cockerel next door and I are still functioning in old time LOL. Julio came round for supper on Friday evening, it's great when he gets to telling of his younger days, if you want to know of his connection here is a link
{ 2007 sees a new album in the works and a recent reunion with his old Amber partner-in-crime Julian McAllister.}
Had a lazy hazy Saturday and yesterday "autumn cleaned" the house feels good, hung the winter curtains at doors and stairway, dusted off the heaters etc etc Days are mixed sunshine and clouds there is a strong wind this morning blowing away the cobwebs. Thursday the pueblo will be packed out as it is All Saints Day and those who have moved away return to lay flowers on their relative's graves and meet up with family still living here, everyone all dressed up and all the older ladies with big beaming smiles as their grand and great grand children visit.

Empowered Forgiveness
Apologies

In life there will always be times when we are affected by the actions of another person. When this happens, we often receive an apology. More often than not we say, “It’s alright,” or “ It’s okay,” and by saying this we are allowing, accepting, and giving permission for the behavior to happen again. When we say “thank you,” or “I accept your apology,” we are forced to sit in our feelings rather than ignore them.

There are many of us who feel that it is easier to brush off how we really feel than to express our discomfort with something that has happened to us. While this may initially seem like the best thing to do, what it really does is put us into an unending pattern of behavior; since we are not honest with another person, we continue the cycle of letting them overstep our emotional limits time and time again. By doing this we place ourselves in the position of victim. We can put an end to this karmic chain by first acknowledging to the other person that we accept their request for forgiveness; often a simple “thank you” is enough. To truly create a greater sense of harmony in our relationship, however, we need to gently, and with compassion, express our innermost concerns about what has transpired. By taking a deep breath and calling upon the deepest parts of our spirit, we can usually find the right words to say and verbalize them in a way that lets the other person recognize !
the consequences of what they have done.

If we can remember that our response to others is important, we can begin to realize that trust and forgiveness go hand in hand. And when we react in a way that engenders a greater amount of honesty and candor, we will establish a more positive and empowering way of being and interacting others.