Monday, April 14, 2014

Making Changes

I am trying to update the blog to reflect life in Salem. Yes, Salem is a real place. Yes, this mural is what we are most famous for. The mural has been around for several years and it no longer looks as nice as when it was freshly painted. I debated for a long time about which section to use. I finally settled on the covered bridge because I grew up on that road and I actually remember when you could drive through the bridge. A tree fell on the covered bridge. The pieces were reassembled in a park in the next town over. It is not the same at all. The bridge is shorter, the graffiti has been removed, and it barely resembles the structure of my early childhood. It makes me sad to see it now. I prefer the bridge in the mural. At least the mural is honest.

I'm not in a between place anymore, but I am between lots of things. I have to balance my love for my beautiful, sad, old house with practical living. We can't keep sinking money into it. I'm trying to sew nice things for my house, make things because I need to do it, I need to create to bring peace to my soul, but sometimes it's better to buy the cheap plastic version so I have more free time to do cook or do laundry. I try to balance reading and sleep. I try to balance healthy food with provide enough food to feed the whole family. I try to plan ahead, solve problems before they arise, but mostly I remind myself to be still and not get overwhelmed.

The biggest challenge is being a Witch in a Christian family. My practice has become silent. Lots of visualizing, lots of careful placement, lots of thinking about meanings. I have thus far resisted Sunday service and bible study. But obviously at some point I'll have to draw lines and be firm about which side I stand on and why. I imagine the pendulum has only just begun its wide arc across my life.

3 comments:

Aine O'Brien said...

Good to hear from you again. I was wondering how your move was. I love the covered bridge. It's going to be very interesting trying to live with people who follow a mostly intolerant religion. I wish you luck with this.

catherine said...

I'm kinda worried for you, you are a witch living in a place called Salem? You know what happened to witches in that other place called Salem by the religious freaks of that era?? Please be careful...

FreeDragon said...

Aine- intolerance is one of the main reasons I chose the Pagan path to begin with. Witches and Pagans don't care about what other people are doing. Xians not only want you to do what they do, they want you to do it the exact same way without question. There are lots of rules and I have never been able to follow them all. It used to be my taste in music, books, and movies that got me in trouble. Now it's the whole dance naked thing ;p

Catherine- I grew up in Salem. It's not a bad place, this isn't colonial times, there are no long standing feuds, the people aren't high, and there's no group of spiteful girls telling lies. And anyway, there's lots of Witches in Salem! We keep to ourselves and smile at the big-haired church ladies. That's all we can do.