measi's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paws of the Goddess This journal entry is also included as my July collaborative contribution for PaganSpeak. For probably about a year now, I've been involved on the religion board on AOL's penpal section (keyword: special delivery, for those who are interested). We have a core group of around eight or so active posters who are of a wide mix of faiths-- Christian, Jewish, two agnostics, two Pagans, a Buddhist, etc... that talk on there, and often get into long *cough* discussions with some of the more evangical-oriented Christian followers who insist that we are all going to hell if we don't convert to their way of thinking. Now... while I strongly disagree with the concept of "you must believe as I do, or you are a bad person..." that these people seem to follow, I also don't begrudge their beliefs in God or in Jesus Christ. That's their faith, it's part of who they are. Their need to push on me irritates me, but I have no right as an individual to tell them what to believe. Because if I did, I'd be guilty of exactly what annoys me about them. I wish I could get the same in return, but let's face it--not everyone in the world respects the rights of others. The thing that always interests me is how people insist that their God(s) are real, and that no one else's can be. I think the Divine, whatever it/he/she might be, appears to each person in a form that they will understand and cherish, because just as there are billions of individuals out there, there are billions of perceptions of God. And each of us who believes in the Divine has our own experiences to validate that faith. For me, the Divine is both one complete whole (when dealing with the universe in general), and individual aspects as needed (for specific things... such as rain, animals, etc). I believe that there is both a Goddess and God, and that they take different forms. I also believe that we, as living beings, are an extension of them, not separate from them. The universe IS the Divine... it is the material composition of those Greater Powers That Be. Simply being alive is evidence of Their existence, but I also understand that for some people, that's not enough. No problem. Again, it all comes down to personal interpretation of faith. But my definitive event that made me KNOW the Gods, and see the image that the Gods would take for me, came from a very simple event about five years ago.... In 1996 I was living with two other people in a third-floor walkup in Brighton, Massachusetts. Since we were the college friends who stayed in the Boston area during the summer, our apartment often became the storage ground for people things... and occasionally extra people... for the three months that Boston University was closed for regular fall/spring term students. During that particular summer, one of my co-workers and fellow students was going to be moving, and she asked me to take care of her kitten, Henry, for three weeks while she was moving and packing. I had no problems with this since I am a cat lover. So Henry, or Kitten-Cat as he became known, came home with me, and instantly went into full kitten-curiosity mode (winning over one of my roommates, LGM, who had previously hated cats). Unfortunately, LGM forgot about the curiosity and independence of cats one night. SInce we had no A/C in this apartment, we often had the windows and front door open in the summers to allow some good airflow throughout the place. He forgot to make sure Henry was in a bedroom before doing so... and naturally, Henry went to explore out the front door of the apartment. It was five minutes when all of our backs were turned. The door to the vestibule of the building was also open... Henry walked right outside. A few minutes later, I realized he wasn't around... and then I saw the open front door and flipped out. I went running downstairs, out the door, and started calling for him. Nothing. No sound, no movement. He was NOT there. I chewed LGM out for being so stupid (yes, I also was to blame in not keeping an eye on Henry, but it was the best way to not kick myself too hard at the time), and then ran back downstairs and started wandering the neighborhood calling for him, praying that he hadn't headed the two blocks up to Commonwealth Avenue, which has four lanes of traffic AND a streetcar system on it (so two sets of rails as well). Nothing. He was gone. By this time I was crying at being so stupid, already having visions of how I was going to explain to my co-worker about Henry going missing in the wilds of Boston. I plunked down on the front step of my apartment building, and started praying to Bast, figuring that if ANY aspect of the Goddess could help me, She would be the one to deal with curious kittens on the loose. Within two minutes of finishing my prayer, I saw a little grey and black tabby face peeking over the edge of the steps at me. I also felt the paws of a much larger cat, tiger or lion-sized, gently gripping onto my shoulders, attempting to calm me. Bast had helped the little guy come home, and then had reassured me. I have no doubt of it. I think Henry was regretting listening to the Mother Cat, though, once I started squeezing him in a huge, relieved hug. I thanked Bast constantly as the little guy wiggled in my arms. The Mother Cat took me under her paw that day and brought me into her collective "litter" of feline and human children. Between my acknowledgement of her protection and the life of my furry companion, Colorado, Her presence is in my life every day. She has become my personal Goddess, and Her presence revealed to me five years ago was proof that I was on the spiritual path. Blessings, Mel. 9:42 a.m. - 11 July 2001 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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