Free Friday

I apologize if there is any funky formatting on this, first ever post from the tablet.

Reflections on Winter

Bare branches reach towards the darkened sky

Like gnarled fingers worn by years gone by.

Breath takes form the eyes can see

Like a part of our spirit is set to wander free.

And cloudless skies frame stars so bright

As the moon rises into sight.

A veil of magic settles on the soul

When such beauty does unfold.

And even though the chill creeps in

We stop and breathe the beauty of winter within.

Copyright Julie Grucza 2013.

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for...

1. Laughter with good friends, and catching up with those I haven't seen in awhile.
2. The fact that hubby and I can talk through our fights and misunderstandings and not hold grudges.
3. Being able to get creative and crafty.
4. Starting my thesis - and therefore being that much closer to being done with school
5. Managing to balance work, life, school and play (so far).

Reflections on Nature

Yep, I know I missed the last 2 days (Monday had a Migraine, Tuesday - well I just couldn't get my head around anything theological).

Today, however, today is witchy Wednesday and that involves all things witchy so I'm pretty lucky to have something broad to work with.  You see my brain is a little fried, I've just started working on my thesis and while I love my topic (Magic and Religion in the Greco-Roman world) it does leave my head feeling like it has turned to a sludgy mess by the end of the day.

Reflections on Nature

If you could only stop and see
the beauty of yonder tree
the graceful dance of the grass below

(Photo copyright Julie Grucza 2013)

the steady beat of waters flow.

Can you hear the deep thrum
the beating of natures drum
or do you close your eyes and ears
turn your nose up and sneer.

If we could all just stop and see
the beauty of yonder tree
the graceful dance of the grass below
the steady beat of waters flow.

How different would our days be
how different would people see
if with open eyes and open heart
we saw nature as something no longer apart

And we all stop and see
the beauty of yonder tree
the graceful dance of the grass below
the steady beat of waters flow.


All content copyright Julie Grucza, 2013

Free Friday

Determining One's Paganicity (yes I made that up)

I've seen a lot of discussion lately regarding what/who a pagan is, and it has made me think.  Mostly 2 key things pop into my mind.

1. Does it matter?
2. If it does matter where would you possibly begin?

As to the first, people will probably get upset at me for thinking that but I have to say I really do hate labels.  Yes I know as a society we love to label things, it makes the world more succinct, but guess what - the world is messy, embrace it.  Why is it we have to come to some form of consensus as to how to label ourselves?  Are we trying to make ourselves more comfortable or others?  This I guess leads into part 2.  If you are determined to label and define how the heck do you plan to do that?  To me it seems about as easy as herding cats.  If we run with the general idea here that most people who call themselves (or that others call) pagan couldn't sit down and agree on a set of standards that all of them follow, nor do the majority want a governing body that would create this list for them, then how does one come up with a definition that covers everyone?  You sure as hell won't find a definition that doesn't make someone unhappy.  This once again cycles me back to point 1, why does it matter? If someone can give me a good answer to this I'm willing to listen, as of yet I haven't encountered one.

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for...

1. Getting to catch up with wonderful friends both Friday and Saturday
2. The glorious spring-like weather that has graced us each day this week
3. The fact that I've lost 6 pounds since Jan 1st.
4. The beautiful ficus that continues to thrive on my desk to remind me of the outside world and my connection to nature as I struggle through the office workday.
5. A much less stressed and therefore happier husband.

Imbolc

Imbolc

As the sun rises sooner each day

And the fresh buds begin to make their way.

When spring can be felt to glimmer on the horizon

And the world around us begins to enliven.

We take the time to acknowledge the coming light

To bid farewell to the darker night.

And with candles lit and intentions set

We cast our purpose for the year to come yet.

All original content copyright Julie Grucza, 2013

(Source: http://druidgroveofbega.blogspot.com/2010/01/imbolc-prayer.html)

The nature of good and evil

The Nature of Good and Evil

Lets face it, this is a pretty significant part of most peoples faith/belief system and yet when this question was posed to me (and I was lucky enough to have quite a lengthy discussion with my professor about it) I was somewhat surprised about how much I still had to think about my opinion on this and if it all meshed in together well.

Do I believe in Good and Evil?  The answer is simply no.  In my belief system I don't believe in these things.  And I'm not talking here about the whole God/Devil generalized aspect, I'm talking about notions that there is good and evil in the world.  You can imagine the responses I got when I put forth this statement in my class, and I was immediately challenged with the most obvious example of why I had to believe in evil - Hitler.  How could I possibly view his actions as something that wasn't evil.  Simple really, to me the idea of evil is a cop-out.  It is an easy and comfortable way for people to deal with actions that have harmful consequences. If we can't understand it, if it causes pain, then it must be evil.  I just don't get that.  To me actions are just that, they are actions.  They have consequences, and these consequences can result in pain and suffering, but that doesn't make the actions evil.  Besides, who decides that something is evil?  Would Hitler have thought what he did was evil - I don't think so.  If evil is something that truly exists as apposed to our interpretation and explanation of events then how does one explain that dramatic shifts that take place with regards to what is considered evil and what isn't throughout history?

Of course the response to this I received was that if I didn't believe in evil then I couldn't believe in good either.  Totally fine by me, I don't.  I believe in actions and effects.  Why is it we label things as good?  Positive effects can occur but that doesn't make the action itself inherently good, nor the person completing the action.  Now it was suggested that perhaps I really didn't understand these concepts because I'd never had to deal with 'true evil'.  It was even suggested that I was being offensive to those who have suffered because I didn't hold what happened to them as something evil.  That would never be my intention.  If someone disagrees with me - so be it, I'd love to hear your side of the discussion.  I would never demean the  way someone chooses to deal with an event such as rape, murder, mugging etc.  If they label it as evil and that helps them to deal with it than that is great.  I don't feel that way, and yes I have been through events that people would label as evil - I have been through child molestation and rape, emotional abuse etc and I can say with complete honesty that I don't consider the person or the events themselves to be evil.  They were actions, actions that had harmful results, but actions nonetheless.  That's just me, you don't have to agree.

So why this topic today?  I think it is important that we try and understand the things we believe and whether we believe in good and evil plays a huge role in some of the other things we believe in.  Balance, Karma, Fate etc.