Differences of Opinion
Some stuff has recently been happening with the grove to remind me just how out of sync my opinions are with a good portion of the group.
Perhaps the biggest being that I am not a nature worshipping Pagan. My religion is not really "nature centered." And while I certainly believe in not doing asshole things like littering all over the place (if for no other reason than because its disgusting; living a year in Baltimore, the city where you can find a big fucking clump of human hair on just about every block, has really helped to hammer that home for me) I don't consider it a "spiritual duty" nor do I feel very compelled to join some activist groups and go out and fight for the earth and blah, blah, blah.
Now don't get me wrong, I see nothing inherently wrong in this sort of thing. Its probably a very good thing there are people like this out in the world and you have my support and admiration. But the fact still remains, my own personal religion is not community focused, its not nature focused. My spirituality pushes me in other directions, makes other things more of a priority to me.
Being a tree hugging dirt worshipper does not alone make one a Pagan, and one can be a Pagan without being a tree hugging dirt worshipper. Its long been a point of irritation for me when people forget this fact; even more irritating is with those people who, when you're not particularly interested in being a warrior for the earth, start accusing you of being a bad Pagan.
Yes, there has been a recent scuffle on the forum, which I guess can be tied into ecological awareness although if that hadn't been explained I wouldn't have figured on it (which either shows my ignorance or their creative thinking, not sure which, maybe a bit of both :-)). And yeah, I admit its left a bit of a sore spot but it is just the latest example in a long string of them (like the discussions for the Yule prayer, or Renee getting her nature awareness essay sent back to her again asking for things that I would not honestly be able to give) illustrating how passionate people can be about things I just don't have any interest in.
There are so many discussions that go on at the grove that I just don't contribute to for specifically this reason; I listen to people talk and realize I'm the only one who holds my opinions, and I further get the sense some of my opinions would be very unwelcome. None of it should come as any surprise of course (do I look like a tree hugging dirt worshipper?), I let people know up front I'm an asshole and my views on life are a tad harsher than most. But you never really know what sort of assumptions other people might make, and I think all of us at one time or another have unfortunately found out just how pissy people can get when they are very passionate about something and you just don't see things the same way. So I keep my mouth shut and try not to ruin things for everyone else (or unwittingly start a giant fight).
But really, it would be nice to get to find some other people a bit more on my page. :-)
Perhaps the biggest being that I am not a nature worshipping Pagan. My religion is not really "nature centered." And while I certainly believe in not doing asshole things like littering all over the place (if for no other reason than because its disgusting; living a year in Baltimore, the city where you can find a big fucking clump of human hair on just about every block, has really helped to hammer that home for me) I don't consider it a "spiritual duty" nor do I feel very compelled to join some activist groups and go out and fight for the earth and blah, blah, blah.
Now don't get me wrong, I see nothing inherently wrong in this sort of thing. Its probably a very good thing there are people like this out in the world and you have my support and admiration. But the fact still remains, my own personal religion is not community focused, its not nature focused. My spirituality pushes me in other directions, makes other things more of a priority to me.
Being a tree hugging dirt worshipper does not alone make one a Pagan, and one can be a Pagan without being a tree hugging dirt worshipper. Its long been a point of irritation for me when people forget this fact; even more irritating is with those people who, when you're not particularly interested in being a warrior for the earth, start accusing you of being a bad Pagan.
Yes, there has been a recent scuffle on the forum, which I guess can be tied into ecological awareness although if that hadn't been explained I wouldn't have figured on it (which either shows my ignorance or their creative thinking, not sure which, maybe a bit of both :-)). And yeah, I admit its left a bit of a sore spot but it is just the latest example in a long string of them (like the discussions for the Yule prayer, or Renee getting her nature awareness essay sent back to her again asking for things that I would not honestly be able to give) illustrating how passionate people can be about things I just don't have any interest in.
There are so many discussions that go on at the grove that I just don't contribute to for specifically this reason; I listen to people talk and realize I'm the only one who holds my opinions, and I further get the sense some of my opinions would be very unwelcome. None of it should come as any surprise of course (do I look like a tree hugging dirt worshipper?), I let people know up front I'm an asshole and my views on life are a tad harsher than most. But you never really know what sort of assumptions other people might make, and I think all of us at one time or another have unfortunately found out just how pissy people can get when they are very passionate about something and you just don't see things the same way. So I keep my mouth shut and try not to ruin things for everyone else (or unwittingly start a giant fight).
But really, it would be nice to get to find some other people a bit more on my page. :-)