Monday, May 14, 2012

Clarification

I'm not a good communicator.  I leave huge gaps of information out when I'm trying to talk about things.  It's far too late to plead that it's from the chemo over 10 years ago so I'll just say it's because my mind is so full I'll have to forget something to make room to learn anything new.

When I talked about the 101 course, I wasn't as specific as I probably should have been.  As Cindy said in the comments from last post, it's not a how-to on magic.  It's more a guide to what Wicca is about and how to find the path that is right for you within Wicca.  I did tell Cindy that I wasn't going to become Wiccan but that I was interested in learning the course because my education in paganism so far has been so piecemeal that I haven't really "learned" much.

It has really been a joy to read the course because it's not only defining for me my own path but it's also reinforcing the decisions I had already made about that path.  And while it isn't a course on magic, it is talked about in the sense of...this is how I do it, but not how it must be done.  More like suggestions or a cursory examination of what it might look like.

But mostly it's just a way to define the right path to take.  At least that's how it's working out for me.  I'm sure for others it's an education on the path they have already determined to take.  And all that is good, believe me.

But I can't begin to tell you all how much you all mean to me and how great it feels that you are so involved in my life, helping me sort out my doubts and anxieties and being as blunt with me as I need you to be.  For most of my life, I lived in a religion where people would tell you how to fix yourself and then claim it was done "in love."  Criticism masked with a facade of "love" isn't love at all.  But what you guys do isn't like that.  It's like having some great mentors with different views on things and you all give me advice and let me sort it out on my own.  You treat me like I'm an adult.  And as strange as it sounds, especially as I'm 58 years old, not very many people in my life treat me like that.

So I've got to tell you that I love you guys.  And this is what friendship is really about...not telling people what they want to hear, but giving them information, advice and even warnings, and then letting them make their own decisions without a single "I told you so" if it doesn't work out.

You guys rock!

6 comments:

  1. Aw warm fuzzy moment. ~hugs~ can't wait to meet you! :) <3

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  2. Sometimes you have to try a lot of different things before you find the thing that suits you best. My bookshelf at home includes well worn copies of all sorts of things including the New American Bible, a copy of John Michael Greer's Druid Handbook, Machiavelli's The Prince, a translation of the Tao te Ching, writings of Nietzche, John Locke, Thoreau, Plato and Marcus Aurelius as well as multiple books of poetry from various authors. I believe in being well-rounded. Sometimes what you learn will teach you what you don't or just can't believe- and that's all to the goal of developing yourself further.

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    1. It's odd that I'm defining my path better by reading things that have nothing to do with the direction I feel I need to take. Often it's a case of ruling out things rather than saying, "Yeah! That's what I believe, too!"

      Plus, as you say, it makes me more well-rounded and I feel I can talk more intelligently about things "not-Christian" which opens me up to more people and more dialogue.

      I completely agree with everything you said here. :)

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  3. I'm eating crow. I'm not Wiccan, I'm Pagan Witch. The difference to me is that Wicca is a Religion and Paganism is a way of life. It was completely wrong of me to jump to the conclusion about what exactly the class was about because of my preconceived notions. The bottom line is, my path is different from yours in that it's not a worn path, more like I'm blazing my path. There are no rules, just wildness. It's my nature. I realize not everyone is like me, but I need to be reminded of that sometimes.

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  4. Don't eat crow! There was nothing wrong with what you wrote. I am learning from you as well, especially about blazing my own path. It's because of your experiences that I saw that I didn't need to have a specific tradition in order to be a witch. Just find my own way and learn my own magic. You rock, woman!

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