My thoughts on the passing of Isaac Bonewits
Last night I watched James (Seamus) Dillard's tribute to Isaac through my Facebook. For those of you who haven't seen it, many of my FB friends have posted links to it. Just watching those pictures float by to that beautiful tune made my heart break. Yes, I'm a sentimental person, but there is more to that grief than sentimentality, I think.
I only met Isaac a few times. Once, I got to see him perform a small yet beautiful handfasting ceremony up close and personal, and in that I could see his earthiness, intelligence, and sparkling wit come alive. A few times at Starwood last year, Isaac actually stopped in the road to speak to my husband and me, and at the time I felt so star-struck all I could muster to babble about was the weather. I probably had about half a million things I could have said to him, since I read and loved Real Magic and I was just getting involved with ADF, but I guess I'm just a fallout from the celebrity-worshipping culture as much as anyone else (I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy! says Wayne and Garth to Steven Tyler of Areosmith). I guess I can't go back and change that, but what I did notice in those brief encounters was his openness and willingness to talk to just anybody, without the usual pretense and egotism that one sees with the leaders of many religious communities, not just our own.
Yet, when reflecting upon the life and death of someone whose accomplishments still had a big impact on my life and my spirituality, I couldn't help but cry. Not tears of sorrow, mind you. I'm glad that he was able to pass from this material world in his sleep, after the intense physical suffering he must have experienced with his cancer. He's on to his next great adventure and I'm truly happy for him. I cry tears of gratitude that he was with us as long as he was, and shared so much with us. I'm grateful for his forming ADF in the manner that he did, which Ian Corrigan points out in his memorial. I, too, believe in the Vision of establishing a Neo-Pagan religion as a world religion that should be able to stand beside the other religions of the world without shame or hiding in the broom closet. As an atheist ex-boyfriend of mine once said to me, "well, if we're gonna save the Earth, maybe starting with worshipping it is the best way to go."
Although I am only beginning in my ADF studies, I can already see the genius behind its invention. For one thing, I really like the first dogma of the organization being the "Doctrine of Archdruidic Fallibility," which means that all members are required to believe that the leadership messes up from time to time. I can also appreciate in the intense focus on scholarship and intellectual honesty, which before the 90s seemed pretty rare in our community. Also, I wish I had listened to the wisdom of his Advanced Bonewits Cult Danger Evaluation Frame, which might have saved me much heartache in my own early occult adventures.
Many of the values that he represented in the Pagan community are dear to the values I attempt to live by in my own life, and, indeed, may have directly or indirectly been influenced by him. I, too, have an optimistic view of human nature and believe that, given the right environment, the human race can aspire to so much more and even accomplish more than what we do in the present time, and I believe that Neo-Paganism could be a vehicle (or one of many vehicles) by which the human race could get there.
So, yes, there is some lingering sadness that Isaac will no longer be with us, but for the most part I feel joy that he was able to share the best parts of himself with us and the world while he was here, which will hopefully inspire generations of people for aeons to come.
I only met Isaac a few times. Once, I got to see him perform a small yet beautiful handfasting ceremony up close and personal, and in that I could see his earthiness, intelligence, and sparkling wit come alive. A few times at Starwood last year, Isaac actually stopped in the road to speak to my husband and me, and at the time I felt so star-struck all I could muster to babble about was the weather. I probably had about half a million things I could have said to him, since I read and loved Real Magic and I was just getting involved with ADF, but I guess I'm just a fallout from the celebrity-worshipping culture as much as anyone else (I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy! says Wayne and Garth to Steven Tyler of Areosmith). I guess I can't go back and change that, but what I did notice in those brief encounters was his openness and willingness to talk to just anybody, without the usual pretense and egotism that one sees with the leaders of many religious communities, not just our own.
Yet, when reflecting upon the life and death of someone whose accomplishments still had a big impact on my life and my spirituality, I couldn't help but cry. Not tears of sorrow, mind you. I'm glad that he was able to pass from this material world in his sleep, after the intense physical suffering he must have experienced with his cancer. He's on to his next great adventure and I'm truly happy for him. I cry tears of gratitude that he was with us as long as he was, and shared so much with us. I'm grateful for his forming ADF in the manner that he did, which Ian Corrigan points out in his memorial. I, too, believe in the Vision of establishing a Neo-Pagan religion as a world religion that should be able to stand beside the other religions of the world without shame or hiding in the broom closet. As an atheist ex-boyfriend of mine once said to me, "well, if we're gonna save the Earth, maybe starting with worshipping it is the best way to go."
Although I am only beginning in my ADF studies, I can already see the genius behind its invention. For one thing, I really like the first dogma of the organization being the "Doctrine of Archdruidic Fallibility," which means that all members are required to believe that the leadership messes up from time to time. I can also appreciate in the intense focus on scholarship and intellectual honesty, which before the 90s seemed pretty rare in our community. Also, I wish I had listened to the wisdom of his Advanced Bonewits Cult Danger Evaluation Frame, which might have saved me much heartache in my own early occult adventures.
Many of the values that he represented in the Pagan community are dear to the values I attempt to live by in my own life, and, indeed, may have directly or indirectly been influenced by him. I, too, have an optimistic view of human nature and believe that, given the right environment, the human race can aspire to so much more and even accomplish more than what we do in the present time, and I believe that Neo-Paganism could be a vehicle (or one of many vehicles) by which the human race could get there.
So, yes, there is some lingering sadness that Isaac will no longer be with us, but for the most part I feel joy that he was able to share the best parts of himself with us and the world while he was here, which will hopefully inspire generations of people for aeons to come.