Earth Spirit

I don’t know how to really start my first post off.  I’m not really the kind of person to get wrapped up in heavy spiritual stuff.  I suppose I’m fairly grounded in fact,  and I’m the one who likes to argue doctrine.

So with that in mind, I’ll start off with the big facts.  I’m a Humanities major. I’m very familiar with Greco-Roman and Norse mythology, and somewhat knowledgeable about Egyptian and Japanese. I believe that there are certain similarities in myth and folklore that must result from some shared experience. I also know that I know so little about people to assume that I can just explain every similarity with a basic blanket statement.

Also, I’m a practicing Roman Catholic. Thought I’d throw that out there.

So I guess this makes me more of an observer.  I’m on a different path than Crimsette, Cami or Lumaria.  Actually, maybe it’s more of a highway and we’re all in our cars with different maps.  I’m taking a well traveled route–one that my parents and grandparents and siblings are all on. I’m going to see certain landmarks, take my photos of the biggest ball of Twine, and stay in the hotels that my travel guide say I ought to stay at. If I follow these instructions, surely I’ll get to where I’m going.

But this doesn’t mean that I can just roll down my window on the freeway and yell at Crimsette not to take the next exit or she’ll wind up on the route that goes past crack-shack motels that lead to some abandoned zombie-infested playground instead of Disney World. Chances are she has another map–maybe more scenic, maybe quicker, maybe more exciting–than my own. Nor can I in good faith force her to divert from her chosen path if I can see not clear and present danger.

Religion and faith are private matters. There is no prize for the person who yells the loudest “I LOVE GOD”.  There is no cosmic pat-on-the-back for attacking another human being.  Love–of God and of my neighbor–come first before any ritual or law.  If we act on love, surely we cannot be reprimanded.

If a driver on the highway of life asks me for directions, I’ll gladly give it. But I’m not going to force my beliefs down anyone’s throat.

So I suppose that my role here is an outsider looking at a  map that I can only do my best to understand. And while I’m likely to stick to the plan I’ve always had, to see another route is enlightening.

~Nadia

It’s been “suggested” (and I use that term loosely) by my fellow bloggers, Cami and Crimsette, that I should continue this pattern of first blogs.

You will notice with each title, it is a continuation of the previous. Cami with her “wandering”, Crimsette with her “path” and my own “destination.” Each are, in essence, the exact destiny we all follow. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you are from, the background you have or the preset expectations impressed into you. One must first wander to find a path. That path will lead to a destination. But does the destination mean as little as the journey and the wandering? Or is it the destination that is more important?

Can’t it be both? We place value on how we learn to define ourselves as human beings, as sophisticated animals that have come far from its evolutionary  but isn’t being confident with who we are at the end of the journey just as important?

I know, as I’m on my journey to figure out who I am and how I fit in this massive world, I’m excited to get to where this road will take me. Even if the destination isn’t anything that I expected, I’ll have got there.

Enjoy your journey. Enjoy it to the fullest. But also enjoy the destination. The destination is just as enjoyable and enriching.

~Lumaria Faye~

I believe that the natural world is full of spirits and that every animal/plant/stone/etc should be treated with the same respect as our fellow human beings.

I believe that there are many gods and goddesses in the world.

I believe that there are spirit guides, and that they can sometimes come to us in the form of pets.

I believe in the power of the four natural elements combined with the spirit.

I also believe that everyone is different and everyone has their own path that they should and must follow. No one should be forced onto a path that doesn’t fit them or that they feel they don’t belong in. What I believe will not be and should not be exactly what anyone else believes. We all have a right to choose our own path, and this is the most important right that anyone could ever have.

We all have a lens through which we view life based on our background and personal experiences. We follow our own path, be it a country road or a city street, a forest path or a busy highway. It  could be spring, summer, autumn, or winter, but it will always be your own.

This is my path and I hope you’ll enjoy my journey.

~Crimsette