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This dream can be interpreted several ways—it all depends on the context and how it made you feel. Dreams about suddenly being able to jump really high can be exhilarating, but they can also feel scary. Jumping up high can mean falling very far at the same time, so if you jumped up in the air and were filled with sudden terror as you started to fall back down, this dream might mean you’ve set your goals really high and are afraid of letting people down. It can also mean you’re not able to handle the pressure you’ve put on yourself. On the other hand, if you are enjoying yourself in the dream, it means you’re taking the difficult things life throws at you in stride. Dreaming about jumping high can also be a symbol of newfound freedom or the relief that comes along with letting go of something that has been stressing you out. Maybe you’ve quit a bad habit like biting your nails, eating too much candy and sweets or you’ve ended a toxic friendship. Whatever it is, you’re starting fresh. If you are feeling bogged down in life, you can take that dream as a sign that you can and should try to release some of the things dragging you down so that you can live a more lighthearted, carefree lifestyle.

You've probably heard about the AIs that people are using to make art these days. These are software programs that take a phrase the user inputs and turns it into a digital painting. But the software doesn't make these digital paintings from scratch. It creates them using a collection of art that's already in existence, that they gather and turn into a database. Where does this collection of art come from?

The AIs scrape it off the Internet.

   Our world has changed, as it does, and as it must, though no one could have anticipated such a catalyst. I have been away from these boards for so long, I hardly know where to begin. At the onset of the pandemic, I was working in elder care, a terribly vulnerable population to face COVID. Through sheer tenacity we were able to keep the residents in the facility safe and health, much to our surprise. My own family fared well; it was only a few months ago that my adult daughter came down with COVID. She lives on her own and was able to isolate. Fortunately, she had a mild case and was back on her feet in a week. 

    COVID hit my household three weeks ago when my adult son tested positive. It knocked him flat, and he is still recovering from the aftereffects, though he is certainly much better. Amid all the uncertainty of the ongoing pandemic I did not expect to face a health crisis of a different nature, one isolation and rest couldn't resolve. In February I received an unexpected and utterly surprising cancer diagnosis; in May it was determined to be stage three, necessitating twelve weeks of chemotherapy. 

A friend is introducing us to the characters in his pagan Nativity set. He points to one hulking, beetle-browed figurine.

“That's Carol, the Ancient Yuletide Troll,” he mugs.

(If you've ever wondered about “trolling the ancient Yuletide carol,” it actually has nothing to do with either internet predators or those terrifying denizens of Northern legend; “trolling” here is used as in the phrase “trolling for fish,” meaning “to go round and round in circles.” A carol was originally a round dance performed to a song. ["Follow me in merry measure."] Here in Paganistan, it still is.)

Well, I don't know about yours, but in the pagan Nativity set under my Yule tree, the Great Mother on her birth-stool is surrounded by (nudge, nudge) a circle of animals, all come to witness the holy birth.

Don't all our lives, after all, revolve (quite literally) around the Sun?

But my friend's approach makes good sense. When the Sun is born, don't all of Earth's children, all the peoples, come to pay their respects, and lay down their birth-gifts: elves and dwarves, as well as humans? Trolls being said to be Sun-averse—I would be too if its light froze me to stone—I'm not sure how Carol the Ancient Yuletide Troll deals with the situation.

Maybe she wears Sunglasses.

If you are a singer or speaker or simply wish to improve how you express yourself, wear these stones in chokers or necklaces to realize a noticeable change for the better: amber, amethyst, aquamarine, azurite, blue obsidian, blue topaz, blue tourmaline, kunzite, lepidolite, and turquoise.

When my grandpa died, one of my uncles gave his eulogy that centered on how they'd bonded by working on cars together from the time my uncle was a little boy. He specifically remembered my grandpa asking him for a wrench, right down to the size, and later placed a wrench of that same size in my grandpa's casket to be buried with him. Others in my family placed a fishing pole, a pocket knife, and other objects that represented my grandpa's hobbies and important memories of him for the living. Regardless of our beliefs of the afterlife, something in all of us didn't want him to go into it without the things he treasured. When my grandma passed, we did the same for her.

It's not just my family that's done this, and I've seen in my occupation that people don't reserve it just for their human family, either. Some of my favorite moments at the pet funeral home and crematory where I work are when people bring their pet's favorite things to be cremated with them.

Many of us are bracing before the big blizzard that's due to hit, across the northern Rockies, northern Plains, and Great Lakes area of the Midwest in a matter of 24 hours or so. Not only will there be dangerous snowy conditions, but there will also be strong gusts of wind, and icy, bitter cold. There could be power outages, so folks are advised to hunker down and stock up on food, water, and batteries for their flashlights. The storm is predicted to be at its worst Thursday evening into Friday morning, when many businesses will likely be shut down. At times, it's somewhat disconcerting to realize how addicted we are to electric power and just how helpless we are without it. Even most gas stoves, and water heaters require it to function. If you're not lucky enough to have a fireplace in your home, your only option may be many layers of clothing and blankets to bundle up in and keep warm.

Be Mindful

It seems all the more appropriate then that the Winter Solstice falls today before all of this is supposed to take place. If we're fortunate, it won't quite as fearsome as they're predicting. But I believe it does urge us all to be especially mindful about our activities today as we prepare and slow down and take time to consider how we spend our time and do so with purpose, if possible. Rather than run around willy-nilly like panicked little stress balls, it would do us better to slow down and be selective. Figure out what needs our absolute attention today, and what can transpire naturally while we're snowbound. Run the errands that need to be and decide what can wait. Stop being obsessed with the to-do list and being ahead of the game and become practical and considerate. Because the latest wave of COVID/flu/and RSV, along now with this latest serious potential storm has and could possibly force many of us to be flexible with our holiday plans—we should do just that and let Mother Nature run her course.