Courage

Courage is the ability to face adversity and overcome it. I have courage and I am proud of it. I am a very open person, I don't hide my feelings, my actions, and my desires. I stand by my word and my actions. If they are wrong then I was wrong. As I read in a person's blast about a month ago. The only people that know how far they can go , is the people that go too far. Maybe at times I have been rash, but there was action. Maybe I choose the wrong fight, but someone stood for the cause of the fight. An hour ago I didn't know how I should feel about this. But then I remembered what Churchill did and said. " Someone had to be the first, someone had to say NO." Churchill talked about Poland during the opening days of WW2. When the Germans attacked, Poland fought back. The poles were outclassed in every way but they said no to Germany.

tactics and ethics... I was questioned on my tactics used. I am puzzled and disappointed on this. A person should try to fight a battle with some ethics, but not be blinded by ethics. Like right now, our border patrol can't and won't fire in defence of themselves against illegals around our southern border. But these illegals have no trouble in shooting and harassing our men. People are told to fight with a good 'christian' moral or to be the better man in a situation. You can't fight a fight or work for a cause with one arm tied behind your back. Now my rule in dealing with others go like this. Try to treat others with respect unless they give you reasons to act without respect. Thus as long as someone doesn't fling some mud at me I won't start the mud flinging.

I am not a self centered person. I think about other people. So I will defend other people. I believe thinking "It doesn't involve me, thus I am not getting involved." is pretty shallow. People want to call others pagan brothers and sisters, what type of brother or sister are you when you stand back and let them get insulted. For a moment I was going to remove myself from the outside world, but I thought that was the wrong thing to do. That would be giving up. I have found strength in me, my spirit is strong. There are people that I help in the pagan community, I give them some of my strength to carry on when they need it.

I have the heart of a warrior. And I fight all battles that I see worth fighting because I think that someone should. I have that right. I don't start fights ,I help others that are in a fight already. So call me a troll. That is fine, I decided long ago that I would fight many fights, I am not going to change. For those of you that don't care about what goes on around you , I think you are a cow. You stand there as the world spins on by not adding anything to improve the situation. And to those that seem to run into the corners when the insults start and the stand for respect is going on, I think you are a rabbit. A scared little animal that jumps at the first sign of danger that also doesn't add to the world around them.  Be the Elk  that is majestic and stands with  grace. The Elk  can defend itself and its young when needed. You don't have to  start fights , you just need to  help  end them.

A poem .. Celtic Fire

       Celtic Fire

From the isles in the north,

Burns an immortal flame.

Stronger than any dragon's breath,

The fire burns in me the same.

In the arms of the Celtic Cross,

The four winds burn in balance.

A symbol of great unity,

A heart at a ready stance.

First is the wind of the North,

at first is seems cold and of spite.

But inside one shall truly see,

The steady hand of truth's might.

The western winds sweep forth,

Covering all lands it can find.

Hand of an inquisitive nature,

This wind strengthens the mind.

Of the east is a mystic breeze,

Searching for dreams and visions.

The hand of hopes and wishes,

Seeking forth of our mind's illusions.

The Southern wind is of warmth,

Full of emotion and compassion.

The wind full of heart's fire,

The hand that gives us passion.

The winds are bound by a ring,

A symbol that is eternal,

Linking the traveling winds,

A power thats fraternal.

In the center lies the heart,

The core for all of Celtic pride,

It is there for each of us,

All you have to do is look inside.


This poem is motivational to me. I wrote because it is to remind me of life and how it is supposed to be. Life is about strength, passion, knowledge, and faith. A person needs all of these in balance to truly live in my opinion.

Life in Balance

I am feeling a little bit philosophical today. So I will
reflect a little in my life. The one thing that I have been learning
is balance. Balance in everything must achieve to have a happy
life. Here are some examples. The foods that we eat must be a
balanced diet or we will get sick. If you are on a motorcycle you
must maintain a balance or you will crash. If you surround yourself
with violence , you will never know simply beauty. This balance
does apply to every aspect of life. look around you do you have
balance?

I love to collect dragons and birds of prey, that is very power
oriented decor, but I balance this with pictures of family and
friends. I love a good scary movie, but I also love to watch a
romantic comedy. I love and use the every changing technology
around us, but I still go to zoos and walk in nature.

The symbol above is the tao symbol 'Yin and Yang'. this is a
very important symbol that we all can learn from. It is a perfect
example of balance. You may look at it as equal and opposites, and
that is true in a way . Yes one part is black and the other is
white. But notice the spots in each half. They are opposites and yet
the same. You can't have beauty without strength. And strength can
be beautiful. This reflects into male and female balance. Every
person has both aspects of personality inside them. You can't live
in only one aspect, there must be balance.

And that is the way my faith has turned to be. I was a
christian for many years. But I always felt empty inside. I started
to do some soul searching and a lot of reading and I found a way
that has brought me a lot of peace. Today the Christians in a very
small way still venerate the mother but yet they don't. everyone
refers to 'Mother Nature' when we have bad weather. But to the
Christian faith there is only one god and it is the virgin Mary that
is the closest that they get to being a goddess. That is not
balance. I believe in the Mother/father aspects of the gods. In my
Celtic heritage, that is the way it was before the Christians came.
And that is the way I believe now. The mother is as important as the
father. Women are as important as men. It is a balance that
creates harmony in life. With this I feel at peace with the world.

SO before anyone tries to say what I am and what I am not, I am
a Pagan. What this means is that I honor the world and nature around
me. I don't look at nature and see what it could become, I look at
it for what it is. The trees, plants, bird, animals, winds and
smells, those are what is important to me. Where do you live? where
do you get your food? Where do you get the water that you drink? It
all comes from the earth, so that is where I place my honor. This is
not Satanism, I don't believe in an ultimate evil like the
Christians do. Celtic beliefs were in existence before the spread of
Christianity, remember that the Church had to convert the Celtic
people over, thus the Celtic faith was there first. Thus I am not an
evil person, I am just different. There are many pagans in the US,
and there are many types of pagans also. So don't let one person's
view ruin your opinion of the pagan community as a whole. And
before you say anything about the number of different pagans
groups, just remember all the branches of the Christian church, there
are the Lutherans, Methodists, Wesleyan, Mormons, and many more.
Just please keep an open mind.

Plum Wine recipe

plum wine recipe
What you will need:

7 pounds of fresh plums

5 cups hot water

5 pounds sugar

5 cups of apple juice

1 package of regular yeast

a 2 gallon mixing container

3 one gallon glass containers

Add to the 2 gallon mixing container the hot water sugar and apple juice. do it in that order so that the sugar dissolves better. wait 5-10 minutes and then add the package of yeast to the mix. In a bowl peel and pit the 7 pounds of plums. Then use a mixer to puree the plums. Add the plums to the 2 gallon mixing container and stir up the mix. Finally finish filling the 2 gallon contain with warm water. Allow the contain to sit for one hour. After one hour use a funnel to equally pour the mix into the three containers. The remaining space in the bottle is needed because as it ferments it will create a layer of foam and fruit. Place a 9- 15 inch balloon over the glass containers and place them in a warm area. The balloons are needed to allow the pressure to pass from the fermenting, and keep the outside air out.

the apple juice is used because of the natural acids in it. the acid balance is important in fermenting. That is why if you open a bottle of apple cider leave the cap loosely on in a warm area, in a month you will have HARD cider.

In 3 weeks you will need to filter out the fruit. When that is done add one cup sugar to each container and finish filling the bottles up with water. And place a new balloon over the bottles. Three weeks after then use a cheese cloth to filter out the wine for sediment. You can never get it all out. wait a week and if you see no more bubbling you can place into smaller bottles and let sit for 4 months and it is aged enough to drink.

Being Good Pagans

     How we conduct ourselves with others is very important.  Do  you show the patience to  others even when you are having a bad day? Do  you take things to  the extreme when you are not  happy? We all must learn to  stop  and breath and think  things through before we react.  We have to  treat  everyone that  tries to  treat us with respect the same respect back. And more importantly, if someone is trying to  remind us of our obligations to  society,  don't get rude.

     I  want to  talk  about this tonight because I  just had an experience on facebook  that  bothered me. A person posted in all  capital  letters that  she didn't like being added to  groups without her permission.  I  asked here if she considered that  others thought highly of  her and they  wanted to share something that  was special  to themselves.  And  because of a related post that  she also made that  was extremely rude, I  told here I  was defriending her.

    Telling people that  "I don't have anger management issues, you need to  learn to  shut-up." is not a positive way  to  resolve things.  In the post complaining about being added to groups, she never said please or made a polite request.   This person is older than me but  was acting in a childish manner. How  can anyone take her serious with  an attitude like this?  How can she function in society  if she explodes in such a manner?

     We need to  learn to  conduct ourselves in a good way. Not only to  our friends and family, but to all  people that  may interact with us.  There is an old saying " You never know about people. The  person that  you are mistreating today  might be the person that  could help  you tomorrow."  I  see people like this and I  want to  remind them that  they  need to  remember that  Social Networks allow everyone to see who  you are, so make it a good image of yourself.  Would you want someone like this in your community? If you don't like that  type of person, make sure that  you don't act in that  manner as well.

     First impressions are lasting impressions. If your conduct is rude, aggressive,  and vulgar,  do you think  anyone will  spend the time to get to  know you better?  If you are acting in a manner of a bratty 5 year old, do  you expect anyone to  give you the chance to  be part of something special?  There is standing up  for what  you believe in, and there is being a dick, they  are not the same thing.

Labels, are they really that bad?

    I  have entered into an old debate tonight, and it inspired me to make this blog.  Are labels such  a bad thing? I  think they  are useful  tools that can be used for good and bad.  We are who  we are, nothing can change that.  What  is the best way  to  express who  we are ... using a word or words to  describe who  we are. In other words, we use a label.

     In religious issues labeling people is considered to  be taboo. People are labeling people this or that  and most people  complain about being labeled.  Most  people  hate having a general label placed on them. He is a Christian,  she is a Pagan, They  are Pastafarians.  But how else can you try to understand a basis of other people's beliefs?   Labels are adjectives, they  describe who  we are. I am a pagan,  pagan is a label that  describes me.  If it is an honest description of who  you are, what is wrong with it.  Saying that  because I  am a pagan  , I  am a devil  worshipper is a label but  also  an insult.  People that  don't understand what  a pagan believes use the "devil worshipper" label as a way to  lower the pagan  below themselves.  It is easier to make people feel  low about themselves for a short time, than to improve yourself. 

     I use labels to understand people better.  Billy is not much  of a christian. I  want to  know what he believes in , so  that I  can understand and respect his  beliefs.   He then tells me that  he is an Agnostic Christian.  He applied a label to himself , and now I  know what  he believes even better. Jennifer is looking for help to  resolve an ethics issue in her beliefs.  She says that  she is an Eclectic Wiccan that  honors the Norse gods.  I  thus know everything I  need to know to  help out Jennifer.

     We as a people hate people calling use a title that  we didn't place on ourselves first. It  can be an honest description of  who  we are, but  unless we thought it up  first, forget about it.  This reflects on how fragile we are.  How much our egos get in the way.  If you can't accept someones general  opinion of  who  you are, specially if it is an honest one, you need to  calm down. 
    
     If someone uses a label in asking a question,  answer the question calmly and honestly.  Someone might ask if you are a witch, because they  have  no idea what  else you could be.  Someone might ask  me if I  am a warlock, and I  would tell  them, "No, I  am a druid, warlocks are a creation of Hollywood."  Then we can exchange a few questions and the person would have a better understanding of who I  am  by  using a few labels.

     We use labels everyday,  I find it silly that   people get so  angry when a label is used to  describe them.  We are all different people, we all  follow our unique paths. How else will others know what  sets us apart but with the use of labels.  Meet Jim........   sounds kinda boring... Jim.   Meet Jim Barnes , he has a PhD in Philosophy, he is a pagan, a writer , a liberal  thinker, and he collects postcards.  Jim Barnes seems like an amazing person to meet.  Labels when used can be wonderful tools.

     As I  said earlier , Labels can be used to  do  bad things.  Calling people names to insult or class them in a negative manner is wrong.  When other religious groups  call all  non-believers satanists, that is wrong. That is a label of hate. It is also  not an honest  classification of people.  You  have to learn to  consider where the labels are coming from before you judge them as terrible things.

     One label tat  I  absolutely hate is "Pagans and Wiccans"  . All Wiccans are pagans, so  why  are people treating them as a separate group? Are they in a different class than other pagans?

    I  feel  that  many  non-abrahamics  have a victim mentality.  They  are scarred   from Christianity from their past involvements with Christianity.  Christianity  has a long history of subjugating people into  smaller groups and then given a name to add salt to  the wounds.  This has made many  people  keep  their distance from any  title or label that  could possibly separate them or add another scar.

     This is shown time and time again when a pagan tries to  work  with a larger group of pagans.  How dare that  person try to  lead me, he is not like me , only I  can lead me.  How  do  we know that  person A is different from person B ? We use labels to  describe ourselves. And if the title doesn't fit out group, we resist and complain.   Titles can harm a group from advancing as they should.  I  was in a druid group and the worst thing you could be was a "Celtic Recon  or CR" .

     We live in a world that uses labels and rejects labels. We seek to be accepted  for who  we are, but are willing to reject those that  are different.  There is one description that fits us all, and should be considered before all  else.  I  am a pagan, I am also  Human ..... just like you. stop looking at the bad side of labels and use them honestly and you can open doors to  learn from others.