Midsummer weekend......
Jun. 22nd, 2003 09:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poltr1Saturday: Yesterday was the Summer Solstice, or Midsummer. One of the local covens held an open ritual at one of the local parks. Since it is a public rite, I don't believe I'm breaking any pacts by discussing what went on. There was a (staged) battle between the Oak King and the Holly King -- Holly King won, as he does every Summer, but as always, there will be a rematch in 6 months -- and a reading of Dr. Seuss' story, "The Lorax". There was also a pot luck dinner afterward -- mostly fruit dishes and bread. All in all, it was a good time. Since we knew we wouldn't get a full meal at the event, we had lunch at W.G. Grinders beforehand.
So what attracted me to a pagan spiritual path? I can probably write up a dissertation on this, but for this LJ entry, I'll condense it down to three items. (1) I definitely feel like I'm getting more out of the service when I'm an actual participant, instead of a passive bystander, following the directions by rote as given in the missals. (2) I also feel more empowered, that the divine energy is inside of me, rather than outside of me. (3) I've had a growing dissatisfaction with my previous spiritual path (Roman Catholicism). This began several years ago, well before the current scandal had broken.
After the potluck, we went home, and ordered take-out salads from Applebee's.
Sunday: Today we worked on finishing the cleanup of the living room. I went through the coupon file, and got rid of some food coupons that have expired. (There were some pizza coupons that said "Expires in 30 days". 30 days from when? The day I received the coupon? Today? As far as I'm concerned, they're still valid. But since the logos have changed, I figured the staff would see that these were old and therefore invalid.) The rest of the stuff got picked up from the floor, and we vacuumed.
Then we (the family) headed out to Young's Jersey Dairy in Yellow Springs for lunch, ice cream, and a chance to feed the goats and visit the other farm animals. It's a family-friendly farm that serves great ice cream. If you're ever in the area, stop in.
After our trip to Young's, we spent a hour and a half in John Bryan State Park, unwiding and reconnecting to nature. That's something I don't believe I do enough, since I spend so much time indoors, either sitting in front of the computer, reading, or watching TV. It felt great to relax and spend some time outdoors, away from cell phones, books, deadlines, and all the other stressors of modern society.
So what attracted me to a pagan spiritual path? I can probably write up a dissertation on this, but for this LJ entry, I'll condense it down to three items. (1) I definitely feel like I'm getting more out of the service when I'm an actual participant, instead of a passive bystander, following the directions by rote as given in the missals. (2) I also feel more empowered, that the divine energy is inside of me, rather than outside of me. (3) I've had a growing dissatisfaction with my previous spiritual path (Roman Catholicism). This began several years ago, well before the current scandal had broken.
After the potluck, we went home, and ordered take-out salads from Applebee's.
Sunday: Today we worked on finishing the cleanup of the living room. I went through the coupon file, and got rid of some food coupons that have expired. (There were some pizza coupons that said "Expires in 30 days". 30 days from when? The day I received the coupon? Today? As far as I'm concerned, they're still valid. But since the logos have changed, I figured the staff would see that these were old and therefore invalid.) The rest of the stuff got picked up from the floor, and we vacuumed.
Then we (the family) headed out to Young's Jersey Dairy in Yellow Springs for lunch, ice cream, and a chance to feed the goats and visit the other farm animals. It's a family-friendly farm that serves great ice cream. If you're ever in the area, stop in.
After our trip to Young's, we spent a hour and a half in John Bryan State Park, unwiding and reconnecting to nature. That's something I don't believe I do enough, since I spend so much time indoors, either sitting in front of the computer, reading, or watching TV. It felt great to relax and spend some time outdoors, away from cell phones, books, deadlines, and all the other stressors of modern society.
