Once Upon a Time...

Once upon a time...
many things were true. I was a musician, a writer, a minor leader in my local pagan community.

My world was surrounded by music.  The ebb and flow of the symphony, or maybe the driving beat of drums pulling me to my feet.  Another time the gentle flow of the native flute swirling around. There was no music that didn't fill my space at one time or another. At time I played, all others I listened.  Regardless of the source, music was all around me.

I wrote.  Constantly.  At one point I was a contributor to 4 different magazines a year with due dates sometimes multiple times a month. There was regular columns, freelance pieces and book reviews. It didn't matter what, I would write it. The words simply flowed from my mind to my laptop and sometimes it seemed I couldn't stop them.  I still have every piece I have ever written sitting in a file on my computer, waiting for new ones to join them.

Yes, I have been involved in the pagan community a great deal over the years.  I have taught classes, offered counseling, and led rituals.  I've been trained in several traditions and earned titles. The specifics don't matter, only the fact that I have continually educated myself and shared those teachings with others.  I have always been pulled towards serving in this way.  Even if I stepped back intending to stop, people would come to me, asking for help or simply guidance to the best direction.

The Universe is making it possible for me to be surrounded by music again, and through the help of some amazing physical therapists, even play some.  I am now getting the opportunity to write again. Perhaps most importantly, I am getting the opportunity to be a religious leader again. This last is quickly snowballing into a major position. I have spent a great deal of time thinking how to approach my new responsibilities.  I am learning the role of a clergy person.  I have begun teaching again, have led my first religious program in years, and this weekend I will perform my first Blessing of a Union. It is a great honor to do such a thing! I am growing accustomed to finding emails in my inbox asking for help or ideas on worship programs or assistance for something we want to do in out Fellowship.

A bit ago I mentioned doing some book reviews.  It was something I had tossed around in my head.  I was trying to decide what kind and how to do it.  Then I received an email asking to review Witchcraft Today: 60 Years On.  It's not a book I would have considered, but something about that email pulled me in.  After reading through, I understand why.  Part of what I said I was willing to teach was a general idea of the different types of paganism.  This book can do a far better job than I ever could.  It is an anthology of short essays telling about so many different paths.  This is perfect for both those who are wanting a little more indepth explanation for finding their own path as well as a good guidebook for individuals, such as UUs, who simply want to understand a little more in order to relate to people of different paths.  Personally, that is an audience I will be recommending this to.  I'm not writing  a long in-depth review on this book.  I don't feel like there is a need, especially here.  My only other thought about it would be that it is well-written, informative yet accessible, and is highly recommended for the more advanced seeker or open-minded individual.

Much of my life is changing.  I am returning to who I am and who I was working to be, only now I can do it in a better way.  I can do it far more truly to my authentic self which allows me to follow my paths more securely.  I can be happy!  I can be who I am.  I have been losing many people during this journey, but every good fairy tale has the main character walking away from the negative people in their life... the evil stepsisters, the jealous family, the "friends" who frame others so they can get away with wrongdoing.  I am working towards Happily Ever After.  Considering where I'm now at, it shouldn't be much longer!

Don't wait to go after your happy ending. No matter what has happened, how old you are or where you are in your life, go for it!  At least take those first steps.  Even if you never get to the end, you will smile a little more every day you are on your journey to you true self.  And of course, happiness is what matters.  Go!  Find what makes you happy & do it!

For more information on the above-mentioned book, please go to this website. http://www.moon-books.net/books/witchcraft-today-60-years-on