Who am I? Ask around

With the ADF elections on, I'm getting this question from a few people. It's a worthy question, really, but not one I like to answer as such.

I will happily discuss things I have done, positions I've held. Deeds and accomplishments. But not questions to my character.

Why?

Think about it. Everybody thinks they are a good person. Those who don't think so, we tell not to be so hard on themselves, say they have esteem issues. So obviously I am not the best judge of my own character. But I can freely judge the character of others, based on my observations of their deeds and words. I can freely discuss things I have done, or not done, and why.

But how I made someone feel? You'll have to ask them. Did I meet their expectations? Ask them. Not me. I'll afford you the same courtesy.

On Offerings

This morning, as I was making pancakes, I began to think about offerings. Every Sunday, I make pancakes for the family, and one of them goes into the offering bowl for our house-wight.

Yesterday, on G+, an atheist I have circled posted a link to an article about Richard Dawkins. It excerpted parts of a letter he had written to his (then) ten year old daughter on the importance of critical thinking, and of having evidence for all things, rather than blind belief in them. Now, normally I very intensely dislike Dawkins, as his whole approach to atheism tends to be "I'm right, and you're an idiot." But the excerpts in this article were very good, and very well written. They made me think.

So, back to where I started: Offerings. In light of teaching critical thinking skills to my offspring, why should I teach her to make offerings to a house spirit that many would argue doesn't exist? Adherance to tradition? Honestly, that's really not a good answer. Belief? I hate that word, as it has become one of the most loaded terms in our modern lexicon (but I'll save that rant for another entry).

But there are other good reasons to make offerings, whether to a house wight, or to gods, ancestors, or landwights. Reciprocity. Generosity. Thankfulness.

Reciprocity is doing something for someone who has done something for you. It should usually be in equal measure or value to what you recieved, to the best of your ability. It naturally goes hand in hand with thankfulness, because it recognizes the value of what you recieved.
These are things that can be debated in light of one's opinion of the reality of these beings (wight just means "being" or "entity", btw), but if one behaves as though they are real and have an effect on the world, then teaching this attitude of reciprocity, of thankfulness to them is good - and useful when dealing with other people. If we get in the habit of saying thank you for favours done, of sharing a drink, or giving a gift, then we increase our worth as citizens. So long as we don't become trapped in the thought that we only do this for gods/ancestors/wights and not for people, we ourselves become better people.

Generosity also reflects this. In making offerings, we should always be generous - though not so generous as to bring harm to ourselves. Don't be stingy. Share. Again, a useful attitude to cultivate in society, whether to human or other wights. Giving generously when you are able increases the chances that others will be generous with you. We don't necessarily *need* to give a pancake to our house-wight. But we do, because doing so makes it more likely that favours will be done for us, perhaps something we thought lost will be found, or perhaps we will have fewer troubles with all the little things that seem to go wrong in a house.

These actions cultivate a culture of charity, that only benefits the world as a whole. If we teach these things early, then their value is learned and ingrained, even if the child grows up deciding that theism and spirits are a lot of hooey.

Because we have gods

We're coming soon to that time, the one where we tell our daughter that the old man in the Coca Cola suit is just some guy hired by the mall to bring children in with their parents, so that the parents can figure out what their kids want for Gifting Season. Some will tell their kids that the stories about this man were lies, that he is "not real." Some that tell their kids may not be so harsh, but the kids will nevertheless walk away with that impression.

"Santa isn't real," is the message. "God/the gods aren't real." "It's all just stories."

But that's disingenuous. It sends a false message. We live in a world of gods. We live in a world where a man fell from the stars and walked away. We live in a world where another man walked upon the desolate landscape of the moon. We live in a world where every day thousands fly through the sky, some on missions martial, but most merely going from one land to another, far off. We plumb the depths of the ocean, plan visits to other worlds, create miracles every day. We create new life forms, and argue whether that's wise.
We live in a world of gods. We are those gods.

So our tales of gods become ever more fantastic. Santa originally drove a sled pulled by horses - one or two, I can't remember. Now he flies in a sleigh pulled by eight caribou. We say he covers the entire planet in the course of one night, carrying enough for children everywhere, so that he doesn't need to restock midflight.

This can't be true. It doesn't make sense. It can't be literal.

Well, no, perhaps it isn't literal. But it's true. All around the world, children recieve gifts from Santa. Therefore, it is true that Santa gives gifts to children around the world. Does it matter if those children's parents are the proxy used?

Tales of gods (and yes, I consider Santa Claus a god), are meant as much to inspire us to our own greatness. Does it matter if they are literal? Does a thunderstorm have to only be an electrical discharge during a meteorological event, or can it also be Mjollnir smashing into the face of some evil giant trying to destroy us? Because I see no giant, does that mean it was not a hammerblow?

An old man dressed in red winterwear inspires us to give generously to one another, and to care for one another during the winter storms. Frankly, he does a better job of inspiring us than the tale of a baby born in a barn in a Mediterranean desert town.

A large, middle aged fellow with red beard and hammer inspires (some of) us to be strong and stand up for what is right. A one-eyed old man teaches us to be wise, and look beyond the obvious. A young man who was nailed to a tree teaches us to be forgiving.

So we follow these inspirations. We look to the stars, and say, "Let's see what is out there." We heal people of illnesses and wounds that could never before be fixed. We talk to people on the other side of the globe as if they were our next door neighbors. We eat foods from far off lands, or make new foods. We speak in one language to a person, and they read or hear our words in their own.  The blind can be made to see, the legless to walk, the deaf to hear. We can give you a new face.

Because we have gods, and they show us that it can be done.

Touching base

Got one or two things coming, but at the same time, I am looking to figure out how to import (some of my) entries from LJ.  While I probably won't delete the account there, I am looking to tighten up my digital footprint, so am eliminating old stuff and tightening things up a bit.

Admittedly I rarely blog much these days, as I don't have enough big stuff to say, but at the same time, I am rather loathe to delete my words entirely. They are, after all, who I am, or at least who I was at the time I wrote them. We shall see what ends up happening. Perhaps I shall merely print them off.

Stormy thoughts

Sitting here watching the rainstorm, I am reminded of when I was a small boy listening to a thunderstorm. Granted, there is no thunder at the moment, but still I remember being told it was "the angels bowling."

Today when I tell my daughter that it is the sound of Thunaer rolling across the skies in His chariot, or smirking a horrid ettin with His hammer, I no more expect her to take that literally than my parents expected me to continue to believe in bowling seraphim. Yes, it's certainly a part of the mythos, but the science also has to hold.

There are those who would denounce me for these tales, and I suppose if they are of an atheist bent, I can see their point, but to those others, I ask how my metaphors are less than your own?

Looking back. Looking ahead.

Well, the big move is coming up.  At the end of the school year, my family moves across the water, to begin the next chapter of our life.  I have already given my notice at my job of the last eleven years.

I feel adrift.  Floating.

I spent today going through a bunch of my stuff, discarding some of what is no longer useful, stuff that I really don't want to take with me.  I didn't trim nearly enough, but then again, I am a packrat.  :/

One of the things that I dug up was my collection of letters from my pen pal.  Looking back over them really brought a lot of memories, as I flipped through them and was reminded of the passage of time and events.  Sure, I have her on FB and G+, but there is nevertheless a strong sense of comfort in a paper letter, whether typed or handwritten.  It occurs to me that those letters are some of my most prized possessions.

And now this.  This is a big change.  I haven't done something this big (aside from getting married or becoming a father) since I was nineteen years old, when I first moved to this city.  That was almost twenty years ago....

Conformity?

Been awhile, huh? Here's some random musings for the day...

I was at my daughter's dance class today, talking with the moms of a couple of the other girls. One of the topics that came up was formalwear (I think we were talking about the Prom dress industry and teen magazines). Anyway, it occurred to me that men's formal wear is incredibly bland.

Think about it - women buy new dresses for weddings, proms, etc. Why? Rarely because they intend to ever use them again - ask anyone who's been a bridesmaid before - and these days, it's not to pass them down to their daughters on their wedding / prom day. No. It's because each dress is (supposed to be ) unique to that woman.

However, as men, we rent our tuxedos. Why do we rent them? We'll probably be able to get more use out of it than just a one time event. But we rent them because they are all the same, anyway. We don't even have a lot of choice in colours. We can have black, navy blue, charcoal grey, or black. We can accessorize with a bit more personality, but not much - a tie is still a tie, no matter the colour or print. It is tied the same, it is one of two widths (and if you wear a wide tie when fashion says narrow, or vice versa, watch out!) and must be worn to a certain length down the body. If with the primary outfit, be it a suit or a tuxedo, you stray beyond the conventional colours, you are forever branded as different. There are certain conventions you can get away with, such as a kilt, but even there you stand out. And as a guy, this is definitely a no-go. How often have we made fun of the poor schlupp who decided to wear a powder blue tux?

Such conformity is taught to guys at a very young age, and goes through all layers of our lives. While we try to teach our kids to want to stand out, be unique individuals, what we show them through things like our styles of dress and our behaviours is sameness. This is as true of the blue collar worker as the white collar. In business, you must wear a specific type of suit, of a particular cut, in certain colours. The blue collar guy wears the same (more or less) jeans, and a t-shirt. T-shirts can have some variety in them, so far as colour and print, but really there is very little else that can be done.