And were OFF

It's Wyatt and Mommy at the starting gate. Wyatt is a spirited young stud and he's pawing and scooting around while Mommy is an older mare and couldn't care less what the young man is doing.

And were OFF.

It's mommy and Wyatt neck and neck as we round the couch end turn. Then it's Wyatt as he giggles gleefully and heads toward the computer cords. But wait, mommy put on a burst of speed and foiled Wyatt's move.

Now it's Wyatt heading toward the invisible spot in the carpet. He's got a wad of hair but Oh no mommy grabs it from him.

And now we have Wyatt who watches mommy slyfully as he grabs the diaper pail. But Daddy swoops in from nowhere and baby is foiled again.

And Wyatt is off, this time heading to the rocking hair bend as he grabs the seat and wait.. He pulls himself up! Holy cow I've never seen a baby take off so fast. Oh no, he's let go and fallen down but don't worry mommy is there to pick him up.

And there you have it folks Mommy saves the day with her nummie maker soothies.  lol

Obesity is a Crime

That's the headline I expect to read sometime in the future. Certainly officials are trying to make it so, for children at least. A Cleveland, Ohio third grader has been taken from his mother for being overweight. Granted, he is severely overweight. No third grader should weigh 200 lbs.  But that doesn't give a good excuse for ripping this child from his parents. These parents are not beating their child. They are not making him wear rags or going without. They are working with a doctor to loose weight.

This is what happens when government gets involved where they don't belong. This child isn't being abused. Is he in perfect health? No. But he's also in no physical or mental danger. There are so many children out there being abused and neglected that will not get help because social workers are busy removing children who don't need their help. This is not a problem social services should be involved with.

Some people are just predisposed to being overweight. I should know, I am one! And so is my daughter. Guess what, she's not thin either.

Obesity is a problem, but it's not one that we should point fingers at and say abuser or unfit parent. The damages of removing the child from his home is far worse than any potential health hazard from being overweight.

Just ask Anamarie Regino, a 3 yr old removed from her home for weighing 90 lbs. When are people going to realize that everyone comes in different shapes, sizes, colors and personalities. Making obesity illegal is wrong, plain and simple. It is NOT child abuse.

“Literally, it was two months of hell. It seemed like the longest two months of my life,” mother Adela Martinez said.

Her daughter, 3-year-old Anamarie Regino, weighing 90 pounds, was taken from her parents and placed into foster care a decade ago.

Anamarie didn’t improve at all in foster care, and she was returned to her parents. The young girl was later diagnosed with a genetic predisposition.

“They say it’s for the well-being of the child, but it did more damage than any money or therapy could ever to do to fix it,” Martinez said.

Anamarie Regino, who is now a teenager, agreed.

“It’s not right, what [Dr. Ludwig] is doing, because to get better you need to be with your family, instead of being surrounded by doctors,” she said.

 

Today's Writing Quote

Beating Down the Devil is about Reine Kincade. She is a divorced woman starting over her life in another town. She's one sassy woman who doesn't trust men because of her past experiences and takes no shit from anyone.

I hope you enjoy today's quote.

A red dodge dually truck pulled up at the house. Oh, Ye-haw, I thought, rolling my eyes as I watched the cowboy step down from his shiny, tricked-out truck that screamed " PENILE COMPENSATION!"The man looked tall, with dark wavy hair a little shaggy for my tastes. He looked at me standing on the porch, and if I’m not mistaken a slight smile tugged at his lips; such full lips too. Why do men always get the features a woman craves for herself? If a woman had lips like that she would be accused of botox.


 

The cowboy held out his hand and said, “Hi, I’m Garret Hamilton - and you are?” Taking his hand I glanced at his cloths. He has on simple jeans, t-shirt, and cowboy boots. Nothing looked particularly fancy or stuck out to indicate how hard up he was for cash. Though the truck certainly cost a large chunk of change.

 

“Reine Kincade, its a pleasure to meet you.”

Mortality

Death is no more than passing from one room into another.
Helen Keller

This week I can't help but to think of my own mortality. My mother came close to leaving this world on Thanksgiving, and it's really brought home that I'm not a kid or young adult anymore. We can leave this world at any time. Our actions or inactions will decide our fate. 

Death to me is just a transition to a new place. I neither aim for it, nor wish to avoid it at all costs. It simply is. That said, I don't believe on putting the peddle to the metal and speeding toward it. Yet, isn't that what my mother has done by living an unhealthy lifestyle for 60 years? She's ate what she wants, however much she wants her entire life. And that has led to two heart attacks on her 60th birthday. She is healing btw, but we still do not know how much damage to her heart was done.

I certainly don't want to spend my 60th birthday in the hospital fighting for my life. Yet, what am I willing to do to avoid it? Well I need to go back on the diet I started last year. And somehow work in an exercise routine. It would help tremendously if I had my own space! That way I could control what kind of foods are in the household and how the food is prepared. Here there is a table with way too much temptation and loading foods with fat is just how it's "suppose" to be. It's hearty food and delicious. It's just way too tempting to pile a lot of food on our plates and gorge oneself.

And then we come to our activity, or lack thereof. I am self conscious of exercising with people present. I've tried before and I'm just too shy. I always feel like people are judging me. That's why I liked when I joined Curves last year because IF there were people there, it was all women with "real" bodies. Not stick thin or beefed up with muscle's like some other gyms. Most of the time though I could time my visits where the area was mine alone. I went in, sweat my bottom off, and left with none there to witness. Maybe I can check into joining a YMCA or something. I thought about it before but I didn't have transportation. 


I know one thing, if this week hasn't taught me anything else, it's that I don't want to be my mother.



 

My Fictional Writing

So I don't talk a lot about my fictional writing. I do have some stories in the works though. I thought I'd maybe share a few quotes and see what you think.

Humanly Goddess is my main story. It's about a young witch named Scarlet who meets Liam, a Guardian of Humanity. Scarlet is on a journey to becoming a Guardian, but she's met with moral challenges along the way. Liam is torn between his Guardian duty and the love he develops for Scarlet.

Here's my quote for today.

Gary ran out of the alley as she watched with part horror, part awe as the younger thug blackened. Now that her attacker is dead, Scarlet surveyed the scene. Joey lay curled in a pile, his body burning the trash that surrounded his corpse. No evidence could remain for the police to investigate. Scarlet called to the heavens, again summoning her will to bring a downpour of steady rain. The flames died and all that remained was smoldering ash. She called to the winds to carry the ash away.

    Scarlet left the empty alley on autopilot as she pondered what exactly she just did. As she turned toward home she remembered the unwavering feeling of her will and how she wielded more power than ever before in her life. If required, she could do it again. If she did, would she still be a good witch?  Or would this new found power corrupt her very soul?

I'm Thankful For...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. This year has been a long and bumpy road. I'm thankful for the family that has helped us along the way. Without them I don't know what we would have done.

I'm also thankful for all the nurses and doctors that are working today taking care of our sick loved ones. A very special someone is taking care of my mother right now because she had a heart attack last night. I just want to wish him/her my love. I'm sure it's a thankless job and not an easy one.

To all the gas attendants, store cashiers, restaurant workers, etc...I want a to give a very special Thank you to those people who are spending time away from their family today just so the rest of us may continue on.


"As we pause to thank Him for the blessings of the past year,
we must not forget to thank Him for the lessons we have learned through our difficult times.
We are not to be thankful for just the pleasant, easy things, but ALL things."
[Millie Stamm]

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.  ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Magickal Graphics

Needing Prayers & Good Wishes

~Magickal Graphics~

 

Please light your candles and say a prayer for my mother. This Wednesday my mother had a mild heart attack. She was air lifted to Lexington where they put a stint in her heart. She's in ICU right now. I don't know much more than that right now, but she is awake and doing OK at the moment. Please send her healing vibes. 

Thank you! 

Robin

The Day Before T-Day

Magickal Graphics
So who doesn't know what to fix for dinner the day before Thanksgiving? I know I don't. Are you already cooking for T-Day? We are not. We decided it would be cheaper to just go to a restaurant for our holiday meal. Sure we miss out on all the leftovers, but at least there's no clean up! Do you decorate for the holidays on Thanksgiving or the day after? We never have! Honestly, I think preparing for Yule/Christmas before December is a bit...weird is the kindest word I can use. Maybe that makes me a Grinch. But I think all the decorations in the stores and Christmas movies on TV take away from the Thanksgiving holiday. Shouldn't Thanksgiving day have two or three isles of stuff to celebrate? And shouldn't it have it's own movie marathon?

The New Death & Others

Hello My lovely Readers,

I've been given the great honor of reviewing a book titled The New Death and Others by James Hutchings. Mr. Hutchings book is a collection of 44 fantasy short stories and 19 poems featuring Death, non-sparkly vampires, succubus, witches, Gods and many more interesting creatures.
If you like fantasy, Science fiction, and folk stories that walk on the darker side of life then this book is for you.

Mr. Hutchings is from Melbourne, Australia and has a bachelor of Arts and majored in Creative writing.  His favorite type of writing is Science fiction and fantasy. Some of the authors he loves to read is JRR Tolkien, Jack Vance, Robert E Howard, Terry Pratchett and Lord Dunsany.

When I asked if he gets discouraged in his writing and how he overcomes creative difficulties he said,

"I get discouraged a lot. Usually it's when people don't like something I've written as much as I do, or when I run out of ideas halfway through a story. One thing I do is make a point of writing every day, even when I don't feel like it. This helps get through temporary slumps. I think if you wait for inspiration to strike it never will."

My favorite is his opening story about the Gods and who has dominion over each group of humans. As someone who is near homeless at the moment, I love his conclusion. I won't give the story away though, you'll have to read it for yourself. 

The New Death and Others is available for download at Amazon and Smashwords.  

For a limited time this book is available for free on Amazon. 

Patience, Pearls, and Joy. Quotes for the Depressed.

"Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them -- every day begin the task anew."

Saint Francis de Sales

"A pearl is a beautiful thing that is produced by an injured life. It is the tear [that results] from the injury of the oyster. The treasure of our being in this world is also produced by an injured life. If we had not been wounded, if we had not been injured, then we will not produce the pearl."

Stephan Hoeller

"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy."

Thich Nhat Hanh

I haven't felt like writing much lately. And at first it was because I had the flu. It's still not all gone but for the most part I feel fine, if not a little tired. So I've come to realize that I'm just in a funk again. It happens once in awhile with my writing. I just feel like I can't be creative at the moment. I still try to open my writing assignment's every day, but within 5 minutes I realize I really am not in the right mind to write and close it. This is one of the reasons I haven't really taken to finishing my novel seriously. I say I want it published, but I know I am probably years away from doing that, if ever. Bottom line is that my writing is still a hobby, and that's OK. But I want it to be so much more. 

The above quotes really speak to me today. I feel stuck in my life. No matter what we've done it's backfired on us. We've yet to find jobs, a place to live, etc. I'm beyond impatient at this point. The pearl quote really speaks to me too because I've had a hard life. One too many kicks gets a girl down, but it's always made me stronger in the end. And if all else fails, just paste a smile on your face, and soon the outward joy you show to the world will become a reality.

Decisions about Life

I've spoke before that I'd like to buy an RV in my "I want to be a Gypsy" post. The problem is DH hasn't been very supportive of the idea. When I ask if he feels it's a good idea he just shrugs and says he doesn't know. So that has made me hesitate to really do anything about it. I don't want to force the issue if it's something he really doesn't want to do or would regret doing. And before anyone suggests I have a heart to heart with him and just ask, I have. And I still get the shrug and an, "I don't know".

So maybe I should just take the hint that it's not something he wants to do? Or maybe, he's just like a leaf blowing in the wind right now and isn't being the "leader" and I need to be? He did give me permission to post the items I'd need to sell on Ebay, but I feel like I might be forcing him to get ride of stuff that means a lot to him. I'd be happy to sell my wedding ring and other jewelry first, but it wouldn't be enough.

I just don't know what to do, but know we need to do something. Everyone is getting tired of living so closely. This isn't going to work for much longer and we've already put in applications for other places to live to no avail.

People Pleaser

I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure--which is: Try to please everybody.
Herbert Bayard Swope

I've been guilty of this in the past. I use to worry about what others thought, if others were happy. My own happiness came second to everyone else's. That's when I learned that I really had to be number one in my life. Everyone is going to feel the sting of disappointment. So trying to please everyone is only hurting yourself. Sometimes, it's ok to be a little selfish. 

Recommended Reading

So while I'm sick I haven't really felt like doing a lot of writing myself. But I'm bored so thought I'd search for some reading to do. I found Obooko, which is a site that has lots of eBooks  for download. It looks like some are amature writers, some not. I've found most of the stories need to be edited for grammar and spelling. But if you can overlook a few minor errors the stories aren't half bad.

One series I am enjoying at the moment is called The Mating by Nicky Charles. There are three books in the series. I've completed the first and I'm still enjoying number 2, The Keeping. The Finding is the third and final in the series. I've yet to read it but I'm sure I'll get to it later today or tomorrow. If your wondering if these are legal downloads, never fear. Their website is on the up and up and is legal.

Another website that has free downloads is Harlequin. If your a sucker for romance like me, you really can't skip this website.

And lastly, I've found this site that has reviewed several websites offering free ebooks. I've not gone through all of them, so click beware. Maybe you'll find something of interest here.

Happy Reading! 

Inspirational Picture

Source

Ugh. We surrender

Funky Flu Germ's -5 points.

Human's -0 points.

We are all still sick. It's really hit DH hard today. I'm still working on hacking my lung up. So Sorry I haven't read many blogs nor invested time in my own.

No one responded before about doing a guest blog. I'm still open to that. If not that's ok too.

A Thanksgiving Recipe

One of our family traditions for Thanksgiving is to do Trail Beans. This is your basic baked beans recipe, plus the beer of your choice. The taste is delicious! Even if you don't enjoy beer (I don't) this recipe is wonderful.

Grandpa's Trail Bean recipe

• 2 cups navy beans
• 1/2 pound bacon diced
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 3 tablespoons molasses
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 green onion diced
• 1 jar mushrooms (4-8oz)
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 16 oz beer of your choice. (I like to use Samuel Adams, but it's good with any kind of beer you like)

1. Wash beans and soak overnight. 
2. Simmer beans for 1-2 hours in same water as you soaked the beans with. 
3. Drain beans but reserve some of the water.
4. In a casserole dish combine the beans, bacon, onion, molasses, salt, pepper, mushrooms, green onion, ketchup, brown sugar. 
5. Add as much of the beer as you like. I just use one can or bottle. Then use the reserved bean water until there is about 1/2 inch of liquid above the beans. 
6. Cover top with foil.
7. Bake at 350 degree's for 3-4 hours. Add more liquid if necessary.

NOTE: If your feeling lazy and don't want to soak beans overnight, you can do this with canned baked beans.

2 can's of Bushes baked beans
Onion
Bacon
Mushrooms
Green onion
Beer

Simmer for 20-30 minutes on stove-top; stir occasionally to make sure you don't burn the bottom.

Have Courage

“The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.”
~ Robert G. Ingersoll

“True courage is like a kite; a contrary wind raises it higher.”
~ John Petit-Senn

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’”
~ Mary Anne Radmacher

What a __ Day

Well I could fill in that blank with a lot of adjectives to describe my day. Sucky comes to mind; Disappointing another.

We started with a good plan. We'd visit my grandfather's grave, and then visit with DH's brother for a bit. We get to London where my grandparents are buried and I can't find my grandfather. I'm really not sure which cemetary he's in. But we did find my DH's grandfathers. One was surprisingly empty of beer bottles nearby. We know Dh's uncle is near if there are beer bottles on that grave.

Then we find my great granny. Finally something gone right!
Dh also found his maternal grandfather. This is the one Wyatt is named after. They share the same middle name, Eldon.

Then we get to see Dh's brother and well I'd rather not rehash a bunch of negativity. This post is negative enough without it. Needless to say DH is bummed and so am I. Wish I'd just stayed home.

Here's some pics of the graves though. Didn't get a picture of DH's paternal grandfather. He didn't want a picture. Yeah, that grandfather was one hell of a guy....NOT.

My Grandmother. Edna Pence

DH's maternal grandparents.

Happy Veterans Day!

Happy Veterans Day!

Don't forget to hug a veteran today. I am sick and we haven't much gas money so I can't go to my grandfather's grave, but he served in WW2 and today he is on my mind. He's the only veteran I know. I want to give a big hug to all Veterans today!

Sorry I'm not Chatty

I think my head might explode soon.  Needless to say I don't feel very witty, or chatty, or creative. The flu has hit hard here. Everyone keeps passing it around. Poor baby man is sick, I'm sick, DH is sick. Everyone is sick sick sick. What's worse, nursing while sick sucks. I'm the type that just wants to sleep till I'm well, and I can't do that because Wyatt is so needy. I also haven't found a medicine that works and is safe to use while breastfeeding. 

I took Wyatt to the doctor today and basically the woman looked at him for a minute, said  yep he's sick and left. UGH. I hate doctors. I know they really can't give him anything at this point though. Wyatt does weigh 19lbs now. I figured he'd be over 20 but he's just under. He's getting so big!

Anyone want to do a guest blog or two? That would help me out. I wouldn't feel so bad for abandoning my lovely witchy reader's. If so send me an email and put "guest blogger" in the subject line so I don't miss it.

Positive and Negative thoughts plus School performances

"Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results."
- William Nelson

This quote couldn't be any more Pagan. If you know how magick works you know that it's the manipulation of energy. We all have our own energy called the aura. Our thoughts and actions are all energy in motion. When you have negative thoughts you bring negative energy to you and vice versa for positive energy.

Right now, my energy is one of irritation. My daughter has been practicing a recorder this year and she's had a lot of fun with it. She has a performance at school in December and she just now brought home the songs she needs to learn the words to. One of them is Silent Night. Now, I don't really mind her doing some Christmas songs, but Silent Night is not a fun secular song. It is obviously a Christian one celebrating the birth of Christ. I feel this isn't appropriate for the school to be doing it.

So my quandary is do I make a big deal about it and talk with the teacher and principle? Or do I just let it go? What would you do?

I have not "raised" my daughter in the Pagan path. I feel all children should be able to decide for themselves. Until the time she's ready to learn about all religions, she doesn't really participate or learn about my own. She knows some things just by watching and asking questions, other than that she has only chose to participate twice.

But she didn't choose to do this performance. It is a school requirement for her music class. I just wish schools would keep ALL religions out of their curriculum.

Opinions of You

“Someone’s opinion of you does not have to become your reality.”
- Les Brown

I probably should have combined this quote with the one I was talking about childhood teasing with. It's appropriate and honestly I don't feel good so I don't feel like coming up with any interesting story to share. How about you tell me a story related to someone's opinion of you.

P.S. I hate winter! All of us are sick. So sorry I'm not at my best.

Going Against the Grain

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."
- Mark Twain

This quote makes me think about my husband before we got together. I've always been teased in school and as a result I had a very low opinion of myself at one point. He noticed that I was constantly belittling my worth and commented on it one day. I'm paraphrasing what he said, but it was something like this.

"How can anyone else love you, if you don't love yourself? I am number one in my life, and you should feel the same. If you really wanted to change something about yourself, you'd do it not just talk about it. When you love yourself, you become easy to love by others."

It was then that I realized I needed to stop being so critical of myself. I was never going to be a super model. I may never be thin. And I realized over time that it's societies pressures to be beautiful that make me want to loose weight. Not for health reasons nor to be more beautiful. Because honestly, I'm beautiful no matter what size jeans I fit into.

My ambition in life has been to be who I am regardless of what other people think of me. The day I realized my worth is the day I took my future in my hands and shaped who I am without fear of societies rules. Has it stopped others from teasing? No. Someone will always comment that I'm a hippy tree hugger or that I'm a fat woman.

But as long as I remember that I am number one, no one can belittle me.

I promise not to keep quoting childhood cartoons, but please forgive me for adding one more.

Image source

Failure is Opportunity

"Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently."
- Henry Ford

I certainly hope this quote is true. This whole year has been about change and starting new. I thought we were starting more intelligently. When Dh and I first discussed making the move from KY to OH we knew we couldn't do it all at once. So in January DH came to Ohio first to make a start for us. I spent 3 months living in a tiny space with my mother. Did I mention I was pregnant at the time? Tiny spaces and big huge belly doesn't mix well. Plus, though I love her, my mother and I just don't get along very well. I prefer to take her in small doses only!

During this time so much was going on. I was trying to hold it together for my daughter, said daughter was missing her daddy and crying every day over it. I was still working, worrying about a frivolous lawsuit my aunt had filed against us, my brother was having some legal issues, etc... Everything just piled onto us at once.

Once Dh got to Ohio it soon became apparent that there were a lot of impediments to our course of action. He didn't have transportation. We had asked previous to the move if he could borrow a vehicle, but once he got here it was unavailable. I told DH then that I should just move to Ohio too so he could have the car. But he said no because we needed my job. And me finding a job in Ohio while heavily pregnant was unlikely.

Fast forward to March and I'd had enough. I was still getting "legal" threats from my aunt, Dh wasn't finding a job because of the way he was let go at his previous employment, the car he had bought with our tax return $ wasn't running right and we hadn't the $ to fix it. Plus social services were going to investigate my mother because they had heard a rumor about living arrangements.

Me & my dog Kota just one day before I left KY.

That Friday I talked with Dh and we decided it was just best I move to OH at that point. I told my boss I had to go and they did a little farewell party. I was very touched that they took up a collection and gave me $60. It really helped on my trip! By then I was 32 weeks pregnant.

I started our trip at 1:30 am that Saturday morning. By 5am I was in Ohio but just didn't have the gusto to go on. I stopped off at a run down cheap hotel and grabbed a room for a couple hours. Then continued on a couple hours later.

We've been living with MIL every since. That was in March. Now it's November and no sign of better circumstances.

So, if failure is the opportunity to begin better circumstances, the house we do get, and the job I do find, had better be at least 3x better than anything we've had before! lol

One can only hope and have faith. What I do know is that I am where I'm suppose to be. 

Just do it Yourself

"I am thankful to all those who said NO to me. It's because of them I did it myself."
- Albert Einstein

I learned this lesson really early! I remember when I was about 5 or 6 I wanted a bike for Christmas. It's one of the Christmas presents that I actually got! I learned from an early age doing a Christmas list was pointless since I never got what I put on it. But the bike was the one exception and my mother made a lot of sacrifices to get it for me.

The only thing was, I didn't know how to ride a bike! So Christmas day we bundled up and went out to ride it. I got on and my mother's boyfriend held it while I rode around in a circle. That was OK but I quickly became bored of going no where. So I turned to go down the street. Mother's BF kept a hold of the seat as I went, but I was almost doing it alone. Well he ended up pushing me into a sticker bush because I didn't know how to turn it myself.

From then on, I vowed that if I was going to fall, it wouldn't be because an adult pushed me into one. lol So I cleaned myself up and went for my second attempt myself. Within minutes I was going up and down the street with a happy sense of glee and accomplishment. I lived on that bike till I was 12 when we moved to KY. I found that riding my bike in KY was more difficult with all the hills. Plus there just wasn't enough space for me to ride.

But I loved it while it last, and I kept stick thin too! I think I rode all over the county (or two) back then. I had other friends who rode with me and back then no one thought about letting a kid go off on a bike. As long as we stayed in a group there really wasn't anywhere I couldn't go.

Though mom doesn't know about leaving the county. Shhh. Don't tell her! lol
I just wanted to see the Standerdbred Horse farm. And I saw plenty too. Unfortunately what I saw was a dead foal in their big trash bin. :( 
But that day I had packed two sac lunches and myself and "boyfriend" rode all over town.

Objections

"Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome."
- Samuel Johnson

This is something my husband does all the time and it drives me batty! He's someone who has to plan every possible outcome and if he sees something that goes wrong he'd rather not take the chance. Life is about chance! I'm not saying take chances that are likely to harm yourself or others, but a well calculated risk is worth the possibilities.

The Magic School Bus

As Mrs. Frizzle from The Magic school Bus says, "Take Chances, Make Mistakes, and Get messy."

 

Eclectic Belief Diversity

Star Foster over on Pantheon asks:

"So think about this for a moment: is your religious practice reflective of what you truly believe? Must you practice the way you do because it is what you believe? Based on what you truly believe, can you change your practice?

In some way, the idea that practice is formed in accordance with belief makes sense. Druids do X because they believe Y. But then there are the eclectics, and this is where I get confused. Do eclectics practice in such diverse and idiosyncratic ways because it fits their beliefs? Or, and yes I know this is a touchy idea, does a lack of consistency in practice perhaps denote a lack of belief?"

As an Eclectic Wiccan, I'll say that it's because I believe in diversity. When I first began my journey toward Wicca I found a lot of different opinions of course. But what I found to be true is that I don't need to fit in anyone elses box but my own.  If I believe that my technique works, it will. "As I will it, so mode it be!".

When trying to follow someone elses "instructions" I was constantly worrying that I was doing it wrong and completely missing the point. I couldn't connect to the divine when I wasn't comfortable with the practice. The rite wasn't mine, so therefore it never worked for me. Once I made it mine by customizing what I did in ritual then everything clicked and I felt the wonderful presence of the Divine.

There is no right way for everyone. There is a right way for each one. Diversity is a great thing, and I encourage everyone to embrace it. If a traditional approach works for you, great. But not everyone can feel comfortable in that setting which is why so many people try Paganism and end up leaving it.

Impossible Tasks

"It always seems impossible until it's done."
- Nelson Mandela

As a writer I can attest to this fact! My novel, Humanly Goddess, has been in the works for over a year now. I have close to 20K for a word count, yet it's not nearly finished. I had originally wanted to keep it around 30K but I don't see that happening. Right now it seems like it's a very daunting task and one I'll never complete. I can't wait for the day when I can say, "It's done!"

 

Perception of Reality

Picture source

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
- Dr Wayne Dyer


This quote represents a big portion of my beliefs. Perception changes our reality.Example: If a woman believes she is ugly and unworthy of love, then to others she soon becomes undesirable. The way to find love is to first love yourself for who you are.

Only by giving...

"Only by giving are you able to receive more than you already have."
- Jim Rohn


Today's quote is pretty simple. Don't worry about what you are going to receive. Worry about what you can give others. In doing this, you get what you need in life - not what you think you need. Presents are just tangible representations of another persons love. The real present, is that the person loves you enough to think about you.

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Welcome to November

 I'd like to thank everyone who commented and participated in my 31 Days of Samhain. It was a fun 31 days but now I'm moving on. This month I'm doing Inspirational and Motivational quotes. As we move into November and December there are some people who become despondent. Especially if you do not have family to share it with. Well on the net your never truly alone. That's what I like so much about Networking!

So here is our first quote to start us off.

"I had no shoes and complained, until I met a man who had no feet."
- Indian Proverb

First off, I love this quote. It reminds me of my childhood when we had very little and yet my mother made it feel like we had the world. Around the time I was 3 or 4 my grandfather kicked us out of the house my mother was renting from him. First lesson, never do business with family! Second lesson, how to survive Autumn in a tent! We camped in the back yard. 4 people in a small tent keeps pretty toasty. I never knew it at the time but we stole corn from a local farmer to survive those few months. Eventually my mother was able to save up some money so we could move. But all I remember of those days was being in the back yard with my family and having fun. To me, I didn't know that we were homeless. I didn't know to complain. I had what I needed. Food in my belly and a warm place to sleep. I didn't know my mother went without dinner, or her boyfriend gave his boots to my brother for warmth. Those are the sacrifices parents make to keep our children in a happy healthy home.

So a big thank you for those who make sacrifices for our children. A a huge hug to those going without this holiday season! This year has been hard for us. I don't know if we'll have a lavish Thanksgiving feast or exchange gifts for Yule. But we will have our family.

 

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