Today was a local celebration with art vendors, craft tables, beer tents, live music, a battle of the bands - the works. There were tons of people of all ages, and lots of dogs. I got let off work early and set about walking around. Right away I found a mortar and pestle for a great price, and snatched it up. Rain clouds that had moved in cleared away, and the sun was bright but not hot.
I walked around and just watched. I got caught up chasing a lost twisted balloon flower with little girls, and couldn't stop laughing. I got to pet at least 3 types of puppies, wander in and out of stores that are always closed when I go by - it was wonderful. I donated money to charitable causes, and watched people all around me perform random acts of kindness.
I made my way to the little park where the bands were playing, and found a seat on a bench. I didn't realize I'd sat down next to someone's stuff - he'd left it beside the bench - and when the owner came back, he sat down next to me. We watched the bands together in silence, and he suddenly jumped a little - his expression seemed to say "how could I forget."
"Would you like a bottle of water?" He asked, reaching into his bag, sounding apologetic.
"Oh! Yes, please, do you have an extra?"
"I have lots, the church down the street is handing them out for free."
I thanked him, realizing at that moment that I really was thirsty. He grinned, seeming really happy that I accepted his offer. We watched the bands for a bit more, before he fiddled around with his things, made a call on his phone, and got up to talk to someone who seemed to be family seated nearby, laughing like a friend as he told me he'd be back in a while. I watched him walk over to a vendor to get food. I finished the water, and wrote a quick note - a folded piece of paper with a flower on the front, and a "Thank you for the water :)" inside. I slipped it into his bag, noting a very pretty wall scroll he'd apparently purchased at one of the booths - the 10 commandments in calligraphy.
The more I moved around, the more I listened to the music, the more I realized that I was genuinely at peace, at least for a moment. I had never felt so much affection for a crowd of people I didn't know. Hipsters, punks, wannabe gangsters, the elderly, children - every person had a significance, a future, a story. Plants and trees had never looked like this - every single one was a living organism, with it's own genetic inheritance and future. For a fleeting moment, I burst out laughing, wondering if there had been something in that water, but I'd been feeling like this all day.
The beliefs I've been looking into praise the earth and it's living things as sacred. It isn't the earth that's worshiped, or stones, or trees, or anything like that. It's a celebration of life, of energy, the everyday struggle of all living things. I started to realize that there is a certain divinity inherent in all of us - every single life is at once profound, and in the grand scheme, insignificant. For most of us, not a single thing we do will matter or be remembered in 500 years, but it matters to us, and those around us, now. And maybe it'll matter to our children, and others children, and so on until the end of mankind.
I began to wonder why I hadn't seen things like this before. I guess that it's that most 'conventional' religions, including Christianity (which I'd been raised with) seem to consider the earth as damned, broken - that each one of us is doomed until we please a higher authority that will deliver us from what is supposed to be an inferior situation. It turns everything into a rat-race to save ourselves and our loved ones before time runs out. The earth doesn't matter because we're supposed to go somewhere better, so it's disposable. We are taught that we all start out deficient and flawed, to value some over others, that women are at fault for most evils, and then that whole cultures are at fault - faiths advertised as being loving and peaceful refuse to accept the validity of another culture because of their belief in another god. Sure, all are equal in the eyes of god - but not all are equal on the earth.
We cause each other so much pain, so much strife, because we can't stop meddling in the affairs of others, we can't help but critique, or judge, or try to save one another whether or not they ask for it. Thousands, MILLIONS, of people, have been killed and tortured, their histories and traditions hidden or destroyed in the name of saving their souls. It's not just the major religions either - cultures that believe in magic, sorcerers, witches - a lot of them persecute one another out of fear, making accusations about attacks both physical and spiritual and even in these modern times people are burned or hung or otherwise killed because it was believed they hurt someone through magical means. something I've quickly discovered is that there seems to be a lot of pettiness between different types of pagans regarding the origins of practices and conduct.
Despite that though, what I have learned is that the modern 'pagan' religions ask for acceptance, regardless of creed - if you don't like something, leave it alone and move on. Defend yourself but don't seek to change others - the path is something for everyone to discover on their own. All are equal, all will pass on - but we leave imprints, and we must consider how we effect others, and how it effects the future.
Christian, jew, muslim, wiccan, Odinist, Buddhist, etc - No matter what someone believes in, they're still human. That's the problem, and it's what makes us so wonderful at the same time.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I was at peace for a moment, because at that moment, it didn't matter where the people around me came from, whether or not they followed a faith or what faith it was; what mistakes they had made, or decisions they'd made I might not agree with.
We were all sitting in the park, listening to music - we all had future choices to make, future struggles. No one wanted to fight, or hurt, or change anyone else. We were all human, and we just wanted to have a good time and get along.
It was a beautiful day in the park.
No comments:
Post a Comment