Seán O'Néill, 32°
5018 Woodland Way, Annandale, Virginia 22003–4161
xyz345@aol.com

We think of October as the tenth month, but octo in Latin means eight, designating the position October held in the early 10-month Roman calendar. Later attempts to rename the month in honor of celebrated Romans all met with failure.

Fall is a time of brisk weather, hot cider, and legions of leaves hurrying down our streets and across our lawns. In the New England region, the frost and snow of early October came to be known as "Squaw Winter," and the warmer days that generally followed were called "Indian Summer." These designations endure today.

The ancient Druids of Ireland and Great Britain celebrated Samhain on October 31 as a New Year's Eve observance that also marked the end of the harvest. It is from this tradition that we derive our celebration of Halloween. But October is not only about agriculture and goblins. The poet T.S. Eliot wrote of a person's "total harvest of thinking, feeling, living, and observing." Harvest, in this sense, is the return of our own behavior and attitudes, the certainty that we will reap what we have sown.

Colloquially, people say "what goes around, comes around." This pithy maxim is worth considering. It refers to the harvest in our personal lives as mirrored by our relations with the rest of the world. It does not address a particular view of divine justice, nor does it speak of revenge. The meaning is simply this—some offenses carry their own punishment, and upright behavior carries its own reward. People who are untrustworthy will not be trusted. Kindness engenders a good reputation and spreads it widely. Most of us avoid angry and hostile persons. The notion that our actions occur in some sort of vacuum and with some sort of immunity is completely normal—and also completely wrong. Words and deeds cannot be called back for further consideration.

Masons are provided symbols to be used as guideposts for correct thought and behavior. A sincere effort at a Masonic life not only enriches the man personally but also affects the bounty of his harvest in the Lodge, the family, the community, and the world.

Seán O'Néill is a psychotherapist in private practice in Annandale, Virginia. He is a member of the Education Committee of the Scottish Rite Valley of Alexandria, Virginia, the District Educational Officer for Virginia Masonic District 1-A, Lodge Education Officer of Ft. Hunt Daytime Lodge No. 353, and Senior Warden of Skidmore Daylight Lodge No. 237. He is also a member of Knights Templar, Shrine, and Allied Masonic Degrees, a patron of the Eastern Star, and an adviser to the International Order of DeMolay.