Remembrance

Nothing else needs to be said …

HUGS !!!

I have to give credit to my friend Zach since he enlightened me by turning me on to this while browsing his MySpace page about a month ago. (Yeah I’m a slacker)

I had never heard of the Free Hugs Campaign nor had I ever listened to music from the Sick Puppies (At least that I know of …DoH!)

Free Hugs Campaign Video

Normally I’m not the type to get all sentimental or emotional about anything (Unless it’s hostility …HA) but this video actually got to me. It made me stop and think about the human condition or should I say the deteriorating state of it.

A hundred years ago people had virtually no communication tools at all. If you wanted something or simply wanted to talk to someone, you couldn’t just pick up the phone. You couldn’t just hop on IM or send a text message.

You actually had to engage people to get what you wanted. Everyone knew their neighbors which made for stronger communities and families. Corny or not if you sit back and think about it reasonably it makes perfect sense.

On the other hand …

In modern times we as a people are far more detached from one another then ever before in our history. Sure we can call people and we can hit people up on IM and send messages on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook ETC. We can text message people and send email and so on.

But chew on this for a moment …

Take a minute to look out the window at your neighborhood. Now ask yourself how many of those people in those houses do you actually know? If you passed any of them in a store would you even recognize them? How many of them have you ever actually spoken too?

How many of them have ever been to your house? How many of their houses have you ever had the pleasure or displeasure of visiting? Do you know their kids names? Do you know anything about them other then the fact that they live across the street?

I have lived in the same suburb for a little over three years now and I can say that I probably know or have engaged two or three of my neighbors at most. I don’t talk to them and they don’t talk to me. It’s not a matter or like or dislike it’s simply that we don’t engage or socially interact with each the way our parents and our grand parents generations did.

We all have friends but how many of those friends do you really trust? How many of those people you call friends do you really …and I mean really know? People just don’t take time out for one another anymore and it’s sad really but it’s the world we live in.

Even I find the Free Hugs Campaign a little corny but it’s also quite significant and should encourage all of us to reach out to one another and make more of an effort to engage our friends and neighbors a little more.

In other words GO GET YOUR HUG ON ….HA!!

OK I’ve grown tired of explaining this on a one on one basis so I figured why not post and get it over with. This way the next time an uneducated holy roller messages me telling me that I am going to burn in hell I can save 15 minutes of my life and just direct them to the blog.

The last message I received in my inbox on the subject told me that I was a Pagan (True by some definitions: Pagan) and a sinner. That I should be ashamed of myself and that I would pay for my blasphemy and so on. I was also informed that I would suffer an eternity of pain and damnation in Hell, BUT God loved me …

WTF?? And they call me a Heathen. That is just so sad and pathetic and yet it’s almost comical.

First I must say that most of the information you’re about to read (Or not read) can freely be found in virtually any book store (Waldenbooks, Border’s ETC.). In fact a lot of what you read below has been referenced from my own reading materials and personal experiences from within the subject. Shall we?? ….

OMG the Devil ?!?!

OK I’m only going to say this once …Wiccans are NOT devil worshipers! OK maybe I’ll say it twice just incase anyone here is a little slow on the uptake. Wiccans are NOT devil worshipers! Got it? Good! We do NOT sacrifice human beings nor do we chase chickens around the yard to catch and sacrifice them while casting evil spells and putting curses and hexes on ex lovers etc.

There is nothing Satanic or Anti-Christian about Wicca. Satanic witchcraft and Wicca are two entirely separate entities that should not be confused for one another. If this is your view on Wicca then you have seen way to damn many movies and should probably seek some form of therapy sooner rather then later. You could also do us all a favor and pick up a book and educate yourself. Racism and persecution come in many forms and ignorance is one of them. It almost seems silly to even have to say any of the above but you would be surprised at some of the sick and twisted views a great many individuals have on this subject.

What is it ?? …

In truth Wicca is many things and those things are usually determined by the individual practicing the path. What I say to you and what I believe might ring true for one particular Wiccan but then again it might not ring true for another. It’s simply a matter of ones own beliefs and interpretations. Simply put Wicca has very little dogma attached to it to get in your way or to tie you down. Dogma can simply be described as the rules and regulations that are laid down by religious leaders throughout any one particular religion.

I’m not going to go into the what is and what isn’t rant about Wicca because as I’ve previously said it is an open source path that can and is interrupted by each practicing individual differently. In a nut shell I suppose you could say Wicca is an Earth based religion. Wiccans are free spirited individuals who chose to follow one particular path or many different paths to find ones own enlightenment or fulfillment just like any other religion or belief.

With that said I don’t see the need to go any farther with this one. I feel I have gotten my point across or that I should have to anyone that is capable of grasping the fact that “God” comes in many shapes and forms and there is more then one path to reach him or her. Just because I choose to follow a different path from others doesn’t mean that I’m the next cult leader. Damn wackjobs.