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Walk of Faith At some point in life, we are faced with challenges that
force us to examine our lifestyle, our faith and our relationships with
others. Pagans are certainly no
exception. Like many other minorities,
we often face scrutiny, ignorance and intolerance. When we are challenged by
religious (often fundamentalist) individuals we are expected to be patient,
compassionate and respectful, even when we are not treated with the same
reverence. These encounters can make
us question (and possibly change) our views, but they can also provide the
confidence to reaffirm our faith. I’ve had many such experiences, most of which have been
from encountering ignorant and intolerant people. Recently however I crossed paths with a man
who, despite seeming to be a fundamentalist, showed me great compassion and
understanding. His hope of course was
to encourage me to believe in Jesus, but in doing so he helped me to remember
why the Goddess is so important, and very real to me. I work in the
Seasonal/Garden department of a very competitive Home Improvement retailer. I meet people from all walks of life, most
of which never even notice the Pentagram I display prominently around my
neck. On a slow Friday
evening, working long after my shift was supposed to have ended,
a customer approached me with some questions concerning African Violets and
various other flowers. He was polite
and kind (often rare for a cold January night in After some
discussion he carried on his shopping expedition, only to approach me again
to inquire about my jewelry. Of course,
I gave him my standard answer, expecting he would react with the usual “Oh,
that’s nice,” and walk away. To my surprise,
he continued to ask me a whole string of questions. What does
Paganism mean to me? I gave him my
standard answer. Do I feel fulfilled with my life, my faith and my choices? As much as any person of faith would. Do I
believe in God? Yes a few in fact,
although I identify more with the Goddess. Have I
read the Bible? Yes, and I
attended 15 years of Catholic school. I
have also studied other ‘major’ world religions. Do I believe in miracles?
Sure, but I don’t believe they are
exclusive to Christianity. How would
Paganism address disasters such as the recent Tsunami? Well, I don’t feel
I should attempt to speak for all Pagans, I can only say how saddened I feel
for the families who have lost, or are missing their loved ones the Tsunami
has claimed. To be honest, I hadn’t
really contemplated the Tsunami, or how it should affect me. He then
proceeded to tell me he was an Evangelistic Preacher (surprise!) and that he
found my views interesting. I told him
I appreciated his curiosity and his willingness to discuss our different
views without prejudice. He expressed
his thanks for the conversation and told me he would pray for me (biting my
tongue, reminding myself that all prayer no matter where it’s directed is a
positive and equally rewarding exchange of energy) in the hopes I would find
the “Truth.” We shook hands and went
our separate ways. Early the next
morning I awoke with the conversation with the Preacher still fresh in my
mind. I was suddenly reminded of a
dream I had more than a year ago. I stood on
a far away beach. It was sunny and
pleasantly warm. I looked around me
and found dozens of people stricken with fear, their faces streamed with
tears. Men scrambled to organize themselves
while fruitlessly cursing the impending doom. Women fell to their knees and pleaded aloud for
God and Jesus to save them I looked
out to the ocean and saw a great wall of water heading toward the shore with
enormous speed. I closed my eyes and
gathered as much strength as I could muster. I called out to the Goddess (Ishtar) to hear
their pleas. Knowing nothing could be
done to stop the destruction I pleaded with her to ease their fears and bring
them peace. I asked that she would end
their suffering as they anticipated the wall of water to claim their lives. The scene
around me slowed, and then halted. Suddenly
from above the shore line shone a great mass of white light. As it descended it shrank to nothing until I
could see the figure of the Goddess emerge. Immaculate and beautiful, she was
sky-clad. Her long hair moved with the
breeze and her intense eyes were full of compassion. She walked
towards me, her eyes glancing at her helpless children around her, frozen in
time, the picture of fear. As she met
me on the beach, she took me by the hand and motioned for me to walk with
her. We walked
side by side through the sand away from the beach. My mind reeled in amazement that she would respond
to the call of a single follower. Her
love and her power radiated so immensely that I could see the plant life
around us had begun to lean in towards her, as if reaching for the sun. As we
walked on, she spoke to me in a voice that seemed to come from within my own
mind. She told me that although the
cycles of the earth can be affected by our actions, they cannot be stopped. She reminded me that without these cycles,
the planet would become unbalanced and uninhabitable. She told
me that it is unfortunate that people must suffer fear and pain, but that too
is an integral part of our social development. She stopped
walking and turned me to face her. She
told me that all we can do, as a global community, is to help and comfort one
another. She said she wants her
followers to be a comfort to others in any way possible, even to those who
don’t believe in her. She assured me
it doesn’t matter to her who these tragic victims worship, it is our duty to
help them in any way we can. Our help
will affirm their faith, and ours, bringing us all closer to the Divine. When I awoke
from this dream, I felt completely overwhelmed. I had walked with the Goddess. She had spoken to me. She expressed her unconditional love for all
of us. I felt unequivocally blessed. However, I was in so much awe that I had
walked with the Goddess that I had missed the message she had spoken to me. It wasn’t until
I met the Evangelist Preacher that I made the connection between the Tsunami
and the dream. It wasn’t until now
that I revealed the dream to anybody. It
has been a long time since I’ve felt so close to the Goddess, and I have the
Preacher to thank for it. It amazes me how
tragic events capture the attention of the global community, and how it
always seems to unite us in our attempts to help. I only wish we could continue to experience this
unity when the clouds have cleared. It
is as important now as it ever was to convey the message of love and
tolerance. Continue to spread the message
no matter what obstacles you face, and add to it the provision of comfort. I implore those who, like me, have yet to reflect on the
events surrounding the Tsunami to do everything possible to provide comfort
to those who need it. Send the victims
(and all others facing crisis) your love, hope and the energy needed to see
them through their struggle. Your
thoughts do make a difference. |
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