I really wish blogger would stop dicking around with everything. I went to post today and couldn't find the little box to write in...only to discover it's here...practically invisible...but here.
I did a lot of studying today on the Norse gods. In fact, I lost track of time and discovered that I'd been reading for about 5 hours. As a result I got nothing else done today aside from picking up my meds from the pharmacy. Now I need to do the taxes. I had hoped Tom would do them since my foggy brain has trouble with numbers these days but that was too much to hope for. So I must tackle them tonight or else.
I'm still walking very comfortably on this path. No bends in the road or branches that entice me away. Zach loaned me his valknut to wear since he can't wear it without it trying to bail on him. He's had it fall off his neck twice (and it's knotted and hasn't come loose) and lost it in his room 3 times. He says he can take a hint and has "given" it to me. I wore it tonight and felt quite comfortable in it. And it stayed on.
I'm still learning the dynamics of a relationship with Pagan/Heathen gods but it's a pleasant education, one not filled with ruler-smacked hands or sitting in the corner with a dunce cap on. It's rather nice to be treated like an adult instead of a wayward child who is incapable of being good on her own. And yet, we're not equals by any stretch of the imagination.
I've been watching Navajo Cops on tv. I love that show because they show the Native American culture and spirituality played out in real life. The cop who anoints himself with bitter herbs before he sets out on patrol. The officers who know they have to break tribal customs by being around dead bodies or have to walk on sacred ground because it's for the good of the community. The elders have given them special sanctions when they have to perform these duties. Taking Skinwalker seriously when a call comes in instead of scoffing and ridiculing the caller.
But it also breaks my heart to see the barren lands we've given them while taking the rich, fertile properties for ourselves. The poverty and despair they live in because they want to remain in their culture instead of being assimilated by the white privilege. The disparaging comments I read online from people who think we shouldn't be giving them the meager benefits we do because all that happened so long ago and anywya they're just lazy and drink all the time. The way I've read some Republicans want to do away with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and break the treaties. You know...the ones that were supposed to be forever.
I had to unfriend someone on facecrack because I shared a link about the way NA babies were being adopted out of their tribes in spite of the treaties and she responded with verbal vomit about how they were all alcoholics anyway and weren't good parents.
I'm not saying that Pagans are any better than anyone else. In fact on a Druid email group I'm on some idiot keeps posting filthy bile about how Zimmerman was the innocent party and Trayvon Martin was a thug (and no reprimand from the moderator so I think I'll be leaving that group.) And certainly within Asatru there are some racist groups that, albeit not the norm, are too many to ignore. But the group that claims to hold the moral high ground, that claims to be the one true religion seems to hold the world's title for racist populations.
But all I can do is walk my path, defend those who can't defend themselves and learn to weather the barbs that inevitably come my way because of it. That's one of the things I learned in my studies this past weekend. That it's not so much about warfare in Asatru these days...it's about defending the weak and standing up against injustice. The same as in other Pagan groups, too, but it was nice to learn that Tyr is the god of justice and doesn't like to see anyone cheated or treated in this manner.
I will be praying to him regularly for our world, our country and our people.
I did a lot of studying today on the Norse gods. In fact, I lost track of time and discovered that I'd been reading for about 5 hours. As a result I got nothing else done today aside from picking up my meds from the pharmacy. Now I need to do the taxes. I had hoped Tom would do them since my foggy brain has trouble with numbers these days but that was too much to hope for. So I must tackle them tonight or else.
I'm still walking very comfortably on this path. No bends in the road or branches that entice me away. Zach loaned me his valknut to wear since he can't wear it without it trying to bail on him. He's had it fall off his neck twice (and it's knotted and hasn't come loose) and lost it in his room 3 times. He says he can take a hint and has "given" it to me. I wore it tonight and felt quite comfortable in it. And it stayed on.
I'm still learning the dynamics of a relationship with Pagan/Heathen gods but it's a pleasant education, one not filled with ruler-smacked hands or sitting in the corner with a dunce cap on. It's rather nice to be treated like an adult instead of a wayward child who is incapable of being good on her own. And yet, we're not equals by any stretch of the imagination.
I've been watching Navajo Cops on tv. I love that show because they show the Native American culture and spirituality played out in real life. The cop who anoints himself with bitter herbs before he sets out on patrol. The officers who know they have to break tribal customs by being around dead bodies or have to walk on sacred ground because it's for the good of the community. The elders have given them special sanctions when they have to perform these duties. Taking Skinwalker seriously when a call comes in instead of scoffing and ridiculing the caller.
But it also breaks my heart to see the barren lands we've given them while taking the rich, fertile properties for ourselves. The poverty and despair they live in because they want to remain in their culture instead of being assimilated by the white privilege. The disparaging comments I read online from people who think we shouldn't be giving them the meager benefits we do because all that happened so long ago and anywya they're just lazy and drink all the time. The way I've read some Republicans want to do away with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and break the treaties. You know...the ones that were supposed to be forever.
I had to unfriend someone on facecrack because I shared a link about the way NA babies were being adopted out of their tribes in spite of the treaties and she responded with verbal vomit about how they were all alcoholics anyway and weren't good parents.
I'm not saying that Pagans are any better than anyone else. In fact on a Druid email group I'm on some idiot keeps posting filthy bile about how Zimmerman was the innocent party and Trayvon Martin was a thug (and no reprimand from the moderator so I think I'll be leaving that group.) And certainly within Asatru there are some racist groups that, albeit not the norm, are too many to ignore. But the group that claims to hold the moral high ground, that claims to be the one true religion seems to hold the world's title for racist populations.
But all I can do is walk my path, defend those who can't defend themselves and learn to weather the barbs that inevitably come my way because of it. That's one of the things I learned in my studies this past weekend. That it's not so much about warfare in Asatru these days...it's about defending the weak and standing up against injustice. The same as in other Pagan groups, too, but it was nice to learn that Tyr is the god of justice and doesn't like to see anyone cheated or treated in this manner.
I will be praying to him regularly for our world, our country and our people.
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