While this is good, it also underlines that we are merely the carriers and guardians of these truths. We are not the celebrity, the idea is. We become inconsequential to the enlightenment of the one we have cultivated, an unknown inspiration that resonates within them. When we do our work best, it seems as no work at all.

A thankless job? Well, my ego tells me "yes" - but really? No. The accolades and attention will only slow you down, inhibit one's ability to be Gwyddon. Our uniqueness is a blessing as long as we stay focused on our function. We are specialized cells, here to provide some very specific additions to the body of the Boundless as it grows - simply from our very existence. Does our task seem repetitive? Yes, of course it is. Does a brain cell or neural transmitter in your body work only once and then stop? No, it repetitively sends its signal as needed to the completion of its life. Just as we continually re-think the same synapse patterns, so does the Boundless.

For all the physical gifts our elders left us in the form of ritual, tradition and lore, their greatest gifts to us were the simple truths of life that help us grow into stronger, happier, content humans. Our teachings on Ego Self-Importance, on the Concept of Oneness, the simple humility and normalcy we achieve when freed from self-importance, make our lives ever so much brighter.

So what would it be like to have only received the physical shell, without the spiritual core? I had an opportunity to experience this first-hand recently.

It has been a long-cherished hope that we American Gwyddons might find others out there that are "more like us". Being "different" can affect ones self-esteem. After all, are we different because we want to make ourselves "important"? So to find others gives us an outlet to "belonging". It proved to be easier than finding a needle in a haystack, but not by much!

In England (the UK as a whole, really) there are pockets of groups that call themselves "Traditional Pagans". After spending some time in intense Web search, Draeconin found some very interesting people. They were amazingly like us, but to my horror, they seemed to lack the inner understanding, our knowing. This is not universal, fortunately, but there is a significant reticence, a fear, that keeps them apart from others.

The uniqueness that we share with them, that singles us out in a pagan crowd, has somehow made our brethren, left in the UK, suspicious of, and unable to be comfortable with, others. They shun cities and usually take on an elitist attitude from insecurity and abuse. Ironically, when we find others of our lineage who are unafraid and open to finding kindred, where do you suppose they show up? In the States, of course.

There is a lesson here.

The harder we seek to search out our lineage, the more we learn of our own beauty. We see how far we have come, what we overcame. Rather than just discovering a verification or justification for our tradition and lore, we discovered our true roots - our metaphysical ones - well seated in rich American loam.

More, we can thank MEM and the American Cordemanons before us for a precious gift; the chance to grow in sweet soil and under a loving sun, unlike our embattled brethren in the Old Land. We could afford the indulgence of soft kindness, of our inner development under these conditions.