Saying Goodbye to 2010

Saying Goodbye to 2010 December 28, 2010

What can I say about 2010? Almost every person I know faced great trials during the past year. While it is a normal human response to recoil from painful lessons, sometimes we learn and grow the most from having to slog our way through adversity. I’m not saying that our ancestors and Gods purposefully inflict trauma on us…but They will take advantage of a learning opportunity and use our life situations to help us to grow stronger and to grow in faith.

Each challenge is a dangerous opportunity for us to make choices consciously and choose to either grow past our fears and stretch out of our comfort zone or to retreat into denial. With each choice we can either accept or shirk our duties to ourselves, our ancestors, our Gods and our communities. Each choice is woven into the web of our wyrd and changes us for better or worse.

On good days I can see this and feel strong and move ahead. But the true test comes on the bad days when the world feels like it is crashing in and I don’t want to face life. Then my choice becomes one of shaming my ancestors by allowing myself to buckle under or getting up and dragging myself to my altar to ask for their aid. Sometimes the most potent prayer comes through tears, “please, I beg you, do not let me fail you today”. This sort of supplication before our dead and our Holy Powers brings untold grace. They may not be able to fix every problem, but They can provide the strength needed to endure the trial.

Our pagan ancestors understood this, I think. They lived in a world where life was often brutal, mercurial and short. Their faith was not a flimsy thing to be cast aside when rewards weren’t obvious or forthcoming. They understood the power of endurance and of right action in the face of loss. They understood that true happiness does not come in a vacuum, that it comes as a result of faith, connections and right relationships with the ancestors, the land spirits and the Gods. There is joy in taking ones place in the web of relationships and obligations and doing what is honorable and right, even when it is distinctly unglamorous or difficult. They understood the beauty of service.

As much as I loathe to admit it, it was the truly dreadful moments in 2010 that taught me the most. We learn the most about who we are and about the people in our lives when we are deep in crisis…for only then do we see someone’s true character (or lack thereof) emerge. So, while I will not be sorry to see the year turn, I cannot avoid a grudging respect for the experiences and lessons and growth 2010 has brought. Being human, that hard-won understanding will not prevent me from praying like mad for 2011 to be a far gentler year for myself and all those I love. May your New Year be blessed!


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