slowing down

When was the last time you slowed down to evaluate your life?

I'm heading to Houston for a funeral which is on Monday. The woman was a part of my family, but that is not saying that I knew her well. I know that she was strong in her church and community, and that every interaction I ever had with her, she was very sweet and very kind. She made sure that my children got presents for their birthdays and Christmas, and tried to make sure and call us every so often.

A lot of times we get so caught up in all the things we have to do, we have a hard time slowing down to evaluate that in which we have. The long and short of it is that we have a very askew sense of value - people who are too wound up in their work often miss out on their family life. People who are all about the family never have adventures or dreams beyond the gates of their fences.

So what is it then? It is making sure that we strike a balance. That we can appreciate what we have, yet drink of something more. We cannot let that which eludes us embitter us. Or make us hopeless. Yet we cannot keep snapping at the heels of it either.

And then I hear my buddy whisper at me from the darkness. He says, "Everything in moderation. Even moderation."

Some days it's easier to listen than others.

witches say the darnedest things...

(this is a repost from another blog...but the incident was so funny to me, I had to share...)

So my daughter is sitting in the chair with my husband, and a commercial for that sitcom Breaking Bad comes on. It's about a chemist, so the words bromide and barium are spoken.

"What's barium and what's bromide?" the six year old asks.

"Well, baby, they're elements," Daddy explains. "Do you know what elements are?"

"Sure do! ......Earth....Air....Fire....Water....."

Wiccan Ebay

This shit destroys my soul. So I wanted to rant.

- I don't care you're selling 1/2 oz. packet of garlic for magical purposes. If I wanted herbs, I'd visit the local health food store or an apothecary. Or given time and patience, I'd grow the damn thing myself.

- I don't want any stupid 'magical rock' with a painted rune. That's just low.

- If I wanted herbs or oils or incense, I really would have put that into the search field.

- Stop trying to sell "Gardnerian" or "Alexandrian" BOS CDs on the internet. I'm not buying it.

- Stop trying to sell ANYONE'S BOOKS on CD on Ebay - you scum-sucking bootlegger.

- If I want potion bottles or anything like that, I too know how to shop at Hobby Lobby or my local caft store for them. I don't need your 'lot'.

- Same thing goes with your stones. If I wanted five tourmaline-quartz mixtures, I'd probably get them cheaper at a lapidary shop or the museum of natural science.

- Using 'Satanist' and 'Wicca' in the same description is annoying.

- Instant Spell Kits. *facepalm*

- Symbols drawn, painted, written or scratched onto a surface that originated from the Necronomicon aren't wiccan symbols.

- I would NEVER buy a 'ghost in a jar'.

- Polymer molds should not be listed wiccan by principle.

- If anyone REALLY wants 'cheap candles', wait until the day after a holiday and buy them at Walmart. I got over 100 candles for less than 15 bucks.


Just thought I would rant some.

.

So....I'm officially wierded out.

Sort of.

I thought I had at least six more months. Seriously. Yet, yesterday the eldest child calls me from the nurse's office to tell me 'that event' has happened.

No, no. She wasn't sick. At least, not in any abnormal way.

I say abnormal, but she's only eleven. And now, now we must think of an appropriate rite of passage ritual for it. Something more pagany and memorable for her. Maybe even gift her her own set of tools. Hopefully.

She doesn't seem scared. But me? I'm both elated and sad. Really. My baby girl is really, really growing up. Becoming an adult. Where does the time go?

Anyway, any thoughts and ideas about rites of passage are appreciated. I didn't get one as a kid...so I'm kind of fumbling in the dark for her as an adult.

across the Universe

I've talked about this on my blog before (uh, probably my other one), but I wanted to mention it here.

Have you ever run into a person that looking at them seemed such an intimate gesture that it felt as if you were standing in a the room completely naked?

I have never had anyone explain proper that feeling when I share it with the person I was experiencing it with or other more knowledgeable individuals in those kind of mystical things. I've only had that kind of contact with three people, one of whom was a total stranger and I actually spoke very little to. The other two was to an ex (and it was actually years after I'd not been dating him.....years...like a decade...or more...) and the other was an english teacher in college.

So of the two I talked to, the feelings were mirrored as well. The ex was happily re-married and just as shocked as I. But not knowledgable about those things either and probably chalked it up to 'good chemistry'. I'm skeptical about that explaination.

The second was my college English teacher and he was actually very gay, a Kabbalist, and had no clue what it was (but I simply adored him!). At least, we never had enough time to discuss it. He actually bought me a copy of The Mystical Quabbalah by Dion Fortune (yeah, I know I spelt it different twice, but there are so many spellings for that dang word). But confessed that he felt that same kind of instant attraction/spark/feeling. We didn't know what to call it either.

I don't just buy 'good chemistry'. I don't think it was entirely a physical connection. We're low on pheremones and winding up to really be diversified creatures.

It is not a sexual thing, but there IS an intimacy involved. People say the eyes are the window to the soul, and when they looked at me, it was as if I was pushed onto a stage, naked and laid bare for all the world to see.

Past lives just don't cover it. Any takers on this one?

look right

No, seriously. That's my blog on MySpace. That's where I write most of the time. I mean, sometimes I write here, but that's okay...it's a lot of stuff that gets written there for a lot of people. Almost 50,000 hits. And sometimes...totally...random...conversation. Seriously.

Check it out, if you're keen on my writing.

tribe

Call it clan, call it family, call it tribe. Whatever it is, GET one. You NEED one.

Seriously. I mean, what's the point of having experiences if you have no one to share them with?

I mean, even as a parent. If you're a couple and you've got kids, you've got to know other people. Your children have to learn more interaction than 'just those kids at school' and frankly, as they grow up and go through their own things, its a good idea to have people you love and trust around so if your child doesn't feel as if you are approachable with a topic, they can go to their favorite 'aunt' or 'uncle' and talk - which keeps you in the loop and hopefully keeps the kiddoes out of harm.

I see the potentionals of a lot of danger. I've got a daughter on the brink of blossoming into womanhood and I can admit it, I'm scared. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders, is logical and practical, and I want her to feel as if she's got a large support base. And she does. Believe me, she does. But sometimes kids have to see it as well as just know it.

And there's where you come in.

Maybe the family you're born to isn't the greatest. And you can't change them. That's okay. As adults, we kind of pick and choose our own family - just pick wisely and make sure that you nuture your friendships. Just like a plant, it needs attention to grow.

So let that be your meditation for the day. Where is your tribe?