I'm sure I could come back another day but I'm wired off Pepsi and have nothing else to do. :D Plus, I've been neglecting this too long!
From What to Teach our Children about Religion:
What would I like to see our schools teach about religion? Respect for diversity would top my list. Teach our children about the wide variety of faiths and systems of value that our diverse population hold, and to respect other beliefs and non-beliefs. Let them read a variety of religious texts, for poetry and beauty rather than dogma.
How do I know what is good? Empathy tells me. That which furthers life, health, beauty, biodiversity, freedom, compassion, love, fairness and justice is good. If I act with integrity in the service of what I love, if I take responsibility for my actions and the well-being of others, I will do good.
Teach them that religion can bring out the best in us--or the worst. Encourage them to explore what is sacred to them--what they most deeply value and care about, what goes beyond comfort and convenience and profit, what they want to protect and cherish, what they would take a stand for, work for, live for.
Ooh yes this. DING. Yes yes yes. This is what I will teach my son. :) My school doesn't do religious instruction at ALL thankfully, and I feel it's a parent's job to do this when the child is ready. Gabe will most likely attend Yule with me this year for the first time and I hope it's special for him. I've resisted doing anything before this because he's too young to understand. Now that he's four (four already?!) he can grasp the concepts at least a little.
From The True Spirit of Halloween, for Real Witches:
...may this season bring you comfort in grief, hope in sorrow, a strong vision for the future and the strength, support, and resources you need to act in service of what you love.
Hallowe'en has felt this way for me since my very first ritual ever. It's always very conflicted for me as I've never really developed coping mechanisms for things and haven't processed a lot of what's gone on in my life. This isn't to say it's been utterly horrible or that my life in any way compares to others, but I know that some of the things I have experienced have bruised me. Samhain is a time where I allow a little bit of the hurt and fear to be healed at a time. Some years there's a lot more gushing than others but there are always tears. Always.
From Children's Health Care: A Prime Moral Imperative
No one gets through life without loss and sorrow, without times when grief overwhelms our ability to cope, without some instances of bad luck, injury or disease. It is our responsibility as a community to share the burdens, not to let them fall on individuals or isolated families, and especially, not to let them fall on children who have the least resources with which to meet them.Something is terribly wrong with our values and priorities when we spend billions of dollars to kill and begrudge the cost of healing and care for children, and for adults.
Being a mom, I have a special place in my heart for children; not just my own but all of them. (This is not to say all moms feel this way, but that I feel this way because I am a mom.) It hurts me in a way that I can't describe when I hear of a child or children being hurt through malice or neglect. As I have written before, I can't help them all. I can't. It hurts to admit that too. I cannot help them all, but it is a truth. All I can do is pray that they are taken care of, that their suffering doesn't damage them, or that their suffering ends one way or another. Goddess be merciful to your children. Hold them close to You and shelter them in the safety of Your arms. Let the thunder of Your heartbeat and the wind of your Breath be their lullaby until such time as they may join us again.
From Forgiveness and Learning:
In some ways, I think it’s easier to forgive our enemies than our friends, at least in small things. The hurts that really sting are not the attacks from someone we know is against us. They’re the small betrayals of friends and loved ones, the mean piece of gossip passed on, the unkind word, the sharp criticism and the unfair judgment. If we value the relationship, we need to honestly confront the person who has hurt us, tell them so, and ask for the change we want. Only together can we change the quality of the relationship—and then we can put the past behind us, forgive and move on.
This only works if both parties can come together and talk about the hurt. In an unequal power dynamic, such as that between parents and children, siblings, employees and employers, this is not always going to happen. If BOTH parties value the relationship, then yes, it is more likely healing and positive change can occur. But as with so many things, many relationships are not equal.
From Two Legs of the Monster
In the Goddess religions, we see the divine as immanent in every human being. Each of us has an inherent worth that cannot be quantified, denied, or compared to the worth of another. If we restrict one portion of the human race from full participation in society, we limit our collective intelligence and potential.
Not much to add here, it's just a great quote. <3
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