Hugs

It's wondrous what a hug can do.
A hug can cheer you when you're blue.
A hug can say, "I love you so," or
"Gee, I hate to see you go."


A hug is "Welcome back again," and
"Great to see you! Where've you been?"
A hug can soothe a small child's pain,
And bring a rainbow after rain.


The hug! There's just no doubt about it...
We scarcely could survive without it!
A hug delights and warms and charms
It must be why God gave us arms.
Hugs are great for fathers and mothers,
Sweet for sisters, swell for brothers.
And chances are your favorite aunts
Love them more than potted plants.


Kittens crave them; puppies love them;
Heads of state are not above them.
A hug can break the language barrier
And make your travels so much merrier.


No need to fret about your store of 'em;
The more you give, the more there are of em!
So stretch those arms out without delay,
and GIVE SOMEONE A HUG TODAY!


      - Author unknown

What Is Faith?

I wish to share with you an article a friend of mine wrote:  

June. I’m currently planning for Family Camp at Sasamat, and already thinking ahead to the next church school year. I say this every year but it’s no less true – I can’t believe we’re at the end of our time together! 

I’d like to remind you that the last service of the year, the Flower Communion, is a multi-generational service. We will be doing a child blessing during this time as well as our usual Flower Communion. The kids have already done one “practice” of the Flower Communion, and we will be doing it again with a little further detail between now and then. I love the liturgical lessons of Spirit Play. For the littlest kids, they give an opportunity to practice, so they have an idea of what’s coming and what’s happening when they join our congregation. For the older kids (and even for me!) they provide some insight into why we do things the way we do, and some of the history.

And I love the story of Norbert Capek and the first Flower Communion. Capek designed the ceremony as a way to tie people from many different backgrounds together, despite their differences. As you know, we all contribute a flower and make a beautiful bouquet together, and we all take one home at the end. I like to think of the taking of a flower as the “different perspective,” for I know that nobody else thinks exactly as I do about their spiritual path. 

And this, is timely. At the moment, there is a complex online battle going on. The problem? A pagan mom was nominated as one of the Top 25 Faith Blogs by Moms. Her blog is excellent. Well-written, funny, and offering a perspective on living in her faith. Unfortunately, I’ve watched this week as one Christian mom wrote a direct attack against this blog, proclaiming that (in short) “different faith is wrong faith,” and the pagan mom has no business writing a “faith” blog. Unfortunately there are others who have jumped on the bandwagon with please to vote the pagan mom out of the contest floating all over social media. It is modern religious persecution, without any doubt. I’m sad to see it in front of me. 

But I am hopeful. Dave Dalley’s work on the “Honouring Diverse Beliefs” documentary has made me hopeful that our kids will grow up in a world where the Top 25 Faith Blogs are comprised of MANY different faiths. I would love to see all the world religions in there.

Our liturgical lessons on the Flower Communion also make me hopeful. We have a small group of kids who are beginning to understand that together, we are amazing. I will have lots to contemplate at this year’s Flower Communion. And I hope that you have a chance this summer to stop... and smell a different sort of flower.

Kate Coghlan, DRE South Fraser Unitarian Congregation

I wish there were more churches filled with more people like this.  The above may not be what most would consider to be status quo for churches, but it most certainly knows how to teach about love and kindness and turning the other cheek.  They've chosen a loving, kind God, rather than an angry, vengeful and yes, even mean God.  Even in the bible, God states "I am known by many names."  Would that not then, in one simple statement, indicate that He did not just choose one small group of people upon this great earth to speak to, while He allows the rest to perish forever simply because the biggest telephone game in the history of man didn't get to them yet?  God, Creator, Allah, El Shaddai, The Alpha and the Omega, Gitche Manitou, Great Spirit.... It is quite possible the list could go on forever.  Why does the difference in language... the different customs used to focus our thoughts and prayers have to be considered to worship different gods?  Just because one person kneels and clasps their hands and another stands tall and uses smudge, or another sits cross legged and uses incense, doesn't mean they are not praying to the same God, and doesn't make any one of them more or less humble than the other.

When I read the article Because Christianity Does Not Own "Faith", I was terribly upset with the arrogance and abusiveness of one who claimed to be Christlike.  I find myself constantly rewriting this post because I find I keep trying to join this woman in her negativity... my words keep floating to my own brand of darkness and then I catch myself, because that's not where I want to be, and that's not where the real story is either.  So I delete sections of text and try again, because while the things that upset us and make us angry are very important to our development as selves and society, it's the bright shining lights that cause the darkness to retreat.  Anger and frustration, outrage and a sense of injustice are healthy and are what tell us to act.  They are merely catalysts and that's why we should not dwell there longer than necessary.  Bright shining lights like the outpouring from people who want to protect the bullied... that's Spirit.  And the voice of a church that teaches it's congregation and more importantly still, it's children to love and respect all peoples of all faith... to truly and meaningfully be teaching them that we are ALL God's children the way the church of the article above does well... that... that my friends, is faith.  Faith shines bright, and chases away the darkness not only in the world, but the darkness that grows in our hearts when we've been wronged once too often.

Yes, it may have taken me a few tries to get this blog right... to stay focussed on what really matters here, but it is because of the shining beacon above that I am finding it much less difficult to catch myself and make the necessary changes. It filled my heart and brought persistent tears to my eyes and has affected me deeply.  Instead of wanting to run away screaming... instead of feeling resentment and the budding seeds of prejudice growing in the wake of such religious cruelty, I found myself wanting to run to this woman and her church, and more shockingly, my children too.  This is the first time since before my children were born that I actually felt they'd be safe visiting and learning in a church.  No dreadful frightening and R rated stories  being taught to the children there, (let's face it, many stories being taught to children in churches would have R ratings for extreme violence if they were made into movies), just love...  only love and spirit and faith and good citizenship with all of God's creation.  This is the story... this is the faith.

 Faith, is the courage to love and to believe.

.

A Wolf's Spirit

It all began so innocently.  A conversation with a friend in which I mentioned that I seem to be having a hard time resting. I told her that I can only seem to rest in front of a screen lately. The meaning being; lately my idea of rest is a computer or a TV screen. What I didn't say was the hidden meaning is I never rest anymore, because such activities are stimulating, and not truly restful.  They are ways of never being alone with ourselves... never thinking very much... never feeding our spirits.  And suddenly as I consider such things, I feel very uncomfortable with myself.  I guess if I were to be honest, I'd have to say I haven't been comfortable with myself for some time now.  But the knowledge and the acknowledgement of this discomfort is my greatest discomfort yet.  


The conversation quickly flowed to discussing our need to run away, and how for me, that means camping.  You see, every year it is in my genetic make-up to return to nature.  If I do not perform this task, it unsettles my entire being for year.  Well due to complications with my husband's job, I've been unable to do this for a few years.  Imagine if you will, an aquarium where the water filter never gets changed.  After a few years it would be mighty gross and clogged and unpleasant.  Perhaps the buildup might even cause it to cease functioning.  This would be me... this would be my spirit.  I must return to the earth to reset... recharge... reconnect...change my filter, if you will.  This is my church... this is where I gather, this is where I commune.


I quickly realized that not only do I need to get back to nature, but I urgently need to get to the first pow wow I get an opportunity to go to.  Not just any pow wow, not a competition or exhibition pow wow, though those have their own merits, but rather a traditional pow wow.  I am exceedingly blessed to live in a land where pale faces like me are welcomed with open arms in the native community not as a visitor or a tourist, but as a sister.  In the end, when I look back into my past, this is where my spirit has always called me to be.  This is home to me, and I am homesick.  


The conversation soon turned to discussing the different kinds of pow wows, and when I mentioned hoop dancers, she admitted to being unaware of their existence.  Being the woman that I am, I very quickly sought to rectify such a tragedy and located a couple of hoop dance videos on youtube.  What had begun as a small wisp of smoke burning in my Spirit turned to small licks of flames, and I began to hunt for more pow wow music.  The licks quickly grew to full sized flames, swallowing me whole and reminding me what it is like to feed my spirit.  Hours upon hours were spent listening to my spirit music, and I feel a great weight and a great sadness lifting.  I am coming home.


Perhaps tomorrow I shall clean my home pow wow style.  ;0)

Welcome

So I've decided to maybe give this blog thing a try.  Why not?  So many things on my mind... some off beat and witty, some deep and philosophical, and some opinionated and quite possibly unpopular.  But this is me.  I am at times the clichéd lone wolf, and at other times I am the devoted pack member.  I am certain my blog will have no flow at all, because that's not the way my mind works.  Everything you see here will most likely be infrequent and random.  I hope you enjoy the ride!  So I invite you to come curl up with me into a furry ball of  companionship and enjoy a moment with me. 

The beauty of the trees, the softness of the air,
the fragrance of the grass speaks to me.
The summit of the mountain, the thunder of the sky,
The rhythm of the sea, speaks to me.
The faintness of the stars, the freshness of the morning,
the dewdrop on the flower, speaks to me.
The strength of the fire, the taste of salmon, the trail of the sun,
and the life that never goes away, they speak to me
And my heart soars.
- Chief Dan George