It is December at this writing, a season of darkness and light, of looking forward and looking back.

There are many journeys each of us makes in the course of a day, not to mention across a week, a month, and a year from January to December.

These may be physical journeys to a new land to explore, down the street to help a friend, across a room to greet a stranger.

They could be journeys of thought, imagination, storytelling, learning, and reflecting on changes brought by these.

“You’re only given one little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.” - Robin Williams

Williamsburg’s cobblestone streets are seeped with revolution, resistance, and restlessness. While the ancient buildings tell a story of the budding birth of a nation, they also tell a story of ghosts, spirits, and specters. 

Haunted Colonial Williamsburg - Copyright US Ghost Adventures

Indigenous people around the world have faced countless challenges in protecting and practicing their religions and beliefs. Indigenous beliefs are a part of Indigenous religions. Religion and beliefs are separate from Indigenous traditions, however. There are religious traditions within Indigenous cultures, and non-religious traditions within Indigenous cultures.

Shifting times indeed.

Autumn is always a season of change.  It is also a season of hope, of sharing, of community, of sharing stories and taking time for reflection.

All still true as times continue to shift.

Music is a fine companion for all that, through all the changes. That is still true, as well.

The separation of church and state is a founding principle of the United States of America. It is an important cornerstone of democratic governance of the American constitutional framework. 

It is important to the human right of freedom of religion.