Jewish High Holy Days fall in September and/or October, but the month leading up to the New Year, Rosh Hashana, is important too.

I think it’s like Christian Advent or Lent, though Dianne says the only thing she’s giving up for Lent is giving things up. And JD received a Advent Calendar full of beers one year, and I think that’s far removed from the intent of the season.

But, if you were to practice Advent and Lent as intended, I think it would prepare you for Christmas and Easter better than just waking up to a holiday after a flurry of shopping and cooking.

That’s the idea of Elul, the month before the Jewish New Year, the path of return, return to your best self.

So I’ve provided photos of pathways on earth and in the heavens.

But as I understand it, the spiral symbolizes the Jewish passage of time best, so I’ve provided examples of those too.

Every year we come back to this point and ask ourselves about the previous year:

• What did I learn?
• What has changed me?
• What needs healing? (Frankly, there’s always something.)
  

Elul is a time to stop, breathe, and reflect so that the High Holy Days means more than gobbling apples dipped in honey. They’re a time of returning to ourselves, of restoring what seems lost.

That sounds like a good idea for everybody, whatever your faith, or if you have any.

Blessings on your path, whatever it is.