My email inbox is constantly inundated with “special messages, just for ME!” about how I can stay sexy forever, feel ten years younger, enlarge my…well, anyway – yeah, lots of junk aimed towards (mostly) a woman of my age. It’s my own fault. At times I get a little panicked and I will click on the ad that promises the Fountain of Youth, even though I know there’s probably just some sort of costly scam at the other end.
As a Pagan woman, I’m supposed to be ok with being mature, and I keep hearing about how forty is the new thirty, and we’re all so much healthier and feeling younger these days, but it doesn’t stop me from thinking about it. I’d love to be able to say I feel empowered and strong, but I don’t, really. I’ve done a few good things for the local Pagan community, and I hope to continue doing things for the Pagan community, but the truth of the matter is I know I could do more – I just haven’t.
When I was younger, I had this little dream about meeting someone that could work with me, side by side, be my partner and my Priest. So of course, the father of my boys is a Baptist. He’s a good guy – he’s even gone to a Pagan festival with me! – but he is Christian, and I would certainly never try to persuade anyone to change who they are. Over the years, I’ve gone through a string of potential possibilities, but apparently I’m just crazy enough that they’ve all run screaming into the night. After these past two years, I’ve made a decision….
It’s not gonna happen. As much as I would like to find someone like that, I’m really starting to believe that no such person exists. At all. All these years of meeting and dating while looking for this idealized mate could have been spent just doing what needed to be done for the community. I’ve always held the belief that no group, grove, coven, clan, whatever, could operate without having both Priest and Priestess, but it’s time to let that one go and get to work.
See, even though I’m older, I can still learn!
On another subject, I did go to Seymour to face down the Westboro Baptist Church. They never showed. I heard a rumor that they drove by, saw how many people showed up, and just kept on going. Fine by me!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Westboro Baptist is Comin' to Town!
Well, Ok, they're not coming to Springfield - evidently they are planning on protesting the funeral of a soldier from Seymour. I would like to go to Seymour and let WBC know what I think of their crappy protest, but I'm conflicted....
Yes, I believe in the right to peaceably assemble and protest - that's First Amendment stuff. However, I also believe in a family's right to grieve in peace, without having to deal with the three-ring-circus that is WBC. I believe in the freedom to worship and assign faith as we see fit, but I also believe Fred Phelps is a closet homosexual. Hey, it's a free country, and that's just my opinion!
I very much believe that WBC only does these protests as a way to garner attention and provoke assault - if you aren't familiar with Westboro Baptist Church (and I use the term "church" loosely here), it's made up mostly of members of the Phelps family - and most of them are attorneys. Here is a fantastic op-ed piece about Fred Phelps and his church. Pretty well sums up my opinion of their activities as well....which is why I'm having so much trouble trying to decide about this protest tomorrow.
Do I go? If I do, I show support for this man that gave his life in service to our country - where it's legal to protest his funeral. Conversely, if I go, it gives WBC what they want - attention and a possible lawsuit. They've succeeded in outraging enough people in this country that no matter where they go, they will be met by opposition. That just plays right into their little game. Most that counter-protest them have learned to keep silent and provide a barrier between them and whatever event they are protesting, and that's great - but I don't know that I could keep silent. I sincerely dislike WBC.
So I'm torn. What to do? I don't know. If we ignore them, I'm afraid they won't just go away, at least as long as Fred is alive. One day, yes, they will be gone, and we can live our lives again without their crazy neon signs with inflammatory slogans all over the place. I've been tracking these people for years, and the only good thing I can say is they are universally despised. And tomorrow, they will be despised in one of our own little Ozarks towns -- well, that is if they actually show.
Yes, I believe in the right to peaceably assemble and protest - that's First Amendment stuff. However, I also believe in a family's right to grieve in peace, without having to deal with the three-ring-circus that is WBC. I believe in the freedom to worship and assign faith as we see fit, but I also believe Fred Phelps is a closet homosexual. Hey, it's a free country, and that's just my opinion!
I very much believe that WBC only does these protests as a way to garner attention and provoke assault - if you aren't familiar with Westboro Baptist Church (and I use the term "church" loosely here), it's made up mostly of members of the Phelps family - and most of them are attorneys. Here is a fantastic op-ed piece about Fred Phelps and his church. Pretty well sums up my opinion of their activities as well....which is why I'm having so much trouble trying to decide about this protest tomorrow.
Do I go? If I do, I show support for this man that gave his life in service to our country - where it's legal to protest his funeral. Conversely, if I go, it gives WBC what they want - attention and a possible lawsuit. They've succeeded in outraging enough people in this country that no matter where they go, they will be met by opposition. That just plays right into their little game. Most that counter-protest them have learned to keep silent and provide a barrier between them and whatever event they are protesting, and that's great - but I don't know that I could keep silent. I sincerely dislike WBC.
So I'm torn. What to do? I don't know. If we ignore them, I'm afraid they won't just go away, at least as long as Fred is alive. One day, yes, they will be gone, and we can live our lives again without their crazy neon signs with inflammatory slogans all over the place. I've been tracking these people for years, and the only good thing I can say is they are universally despised. And tomorrow, they will be despised in one of our own little Ozarks towns -- well, that is if they actually show.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Definition of Insanity
How do you know when it’s time to make a major change in your life? Do you need a major event to occur before you can set out to make changes, or do you wait for some arbitrary date on a calendar? And how deep do those changes go? Are they superficial, like dropping a few pounds or getting a new haircut, or are they really major, like severing ties to toxic people?
There is something somewhat magical and moving about New Year’s Eve, especially when you’re standing by yourself in the middle of a crowd of people you don’t know, wondering what the hell you’ve done with your life up till now. Times Square, any bar in any town, your own home – it’s one of those things you can’t stop from happening. Time will continue, whether you choose to move with it or not.
I’ve spent a considerable amount of time reflecting on myself, my actions, my f’ed up life, and here’s some thoughts –
I thought I liked who I was, but I don’t.
I cannot build a new life on my old life. It’s crap. So I’m closing the door on the old life and starting from scratch.
I’ve been lying to myself for entirely too long. So have a few other people.
Fenix needs to go. The power I gathered from that name is long gone.
I have a drinking problem.
What brought this about? Really, does it matter? Yes, there were events, but it’s not necessary for the world to know about them. What matters is this person that you know is changing. And yes, I know – we are all changing, all the time – but this change will take me off my current path. I’m tired of it.
Definition of insanity – doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results.
There is something somewhat magical and moving about New Year’s Eve, especially when you’re standing by yourself in the middle of a crowd of people you don’t know, wondering what the hell you’ve done with your life up till now. Times Square, any bar in any town, your own home – it’s one of those things you can’t stop from happening. Time will continue, whether you choose to move with it or not.
I’ve spent a considerable amount of time reflecting on myself, my actions, my f’ed up life, and here’s some thoughts –
I thought I liked who I was, but I don’t.
I cannot build a new life on my old life. It’s crap. So I’m closing the door on the old life and starting from scratch.
I’ve been lying to myself for entirely too long. So have a few other people.
Fenix needs to go. The power I gathered from that name is long gone.
I have a drinking problem.
What brought this about? Really, does it matter? Yes, there were events, but it’s not necessary for the world to know about them. What matters is this person that you know is changing. And yes, I know – we are all changing, all the time – but this change will take me off my current path. I’m tired of it.
Definition of insanity – doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Aaaaand there it is!
Sometimes my brain needs a little time to chew on a thought before it comes to a conclusion. I knew there was more to what I had written in my last blog - and here it is.
Evil is subjective, yes, but I think you'll be hard-pressed to find any Pagan or Free-thinker that wouldn't agree with this: true evil is forcing another human being to suppress their natural tendencies and free will.
Say, for instance, your son is left-handed, but that just really freaks you out. You force him to write with his right hand, eat with his right hand, color, brush his teeth, hit a baseball, all with his right hand. You even go so far as to tie his left arm behind him so he can't use it at all.
It's been a while back, but I remember reading some studies done years ago on left-handed kids that were forced to use only their right hands, and the scientists doing these studies learned some interesting things (for the record, I'm left-handed). Turns out a lot of those kids had problems with anger, social interaction, clumsiness, poor test scores, stuff that seemed random if you looked at each child individually, but when they started paying more attention to it, they started seeing correlations between forcing a child to go against their natural tendencies and all these other problems they were having later on.
Yeah - think about that for a minute.
What other natural tendencies can you think of that "well-intentioned" people have tried to force others to give up? And just who is it that's trying to force others to bend to their will? Hmm.....
Evil is subjective, yes, but I think you'll be hard-pressed to find any Pagan or Free-thinker that wouldn't agree with this: true evil is forcing another human being to suppress their natural tendencies and free will.
Say, for instance, your son is left-handed, but that just really freaks you out. You force him to write with his right hand, eat with his right hand, color, brush his teeth, hit a baseball, all with his right hand. You even go so far as to tie his left arm behind him so he can't use it at all.
It's been a while back, but I remember reading some studies done years ago on left-handed kids that were forced to use only their right hands, and the scientists doing these studies learned some interesting things (for the record, I'm left-handed). Turns out a lot of those kids had problems with anger, social interaction, clumsiness, poor test scores, stuff that seemed random if you looked at each child individually, but when they started paying more attention to it, they started seeing correlations between forcing a child to go against their natural tendencies and all these other problems they were having later on.
Yeah - think about that for a minute.
What other natural tendencies can you think of that "well-intentioned" people have tried to force others to give up? And just who is it that's trying to force others to bend to their will? Hmm.....
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