Pagan In Paradise
Recently Pagans from a wide range of belief systems have shared information, ideas and positions on the celebration of Thanksgiving. What stands out in this conversation is the sense of a broad and respectful dialog among those that hold some but not necessarily all beliefs in common.
As we consider what we are giving thanks for this season, let us consider how grateful we should be to be involved in a community that encourages the respectful exchange of ideas and beliefs. In our community, we tend to be informed by these interactions rather than become fractured and more divided by them.
While some Pagans are enjoying a traditional family holiday, others are engaged in events that focus on the effects on our indigenous peoples of colonization, others are simply forgoing any recognition in solidarity with members of the Native American community.
There is much that I have to give thanks for today. Most of all I am grateful for our community where dogma, institutional thinking and the proselytizing of ideas are nearly absent in the public discourse.
Let us not forget that this community, our brothers and sisters, are engaged in building a paradigm that has at it’s center tolerance, respect, open mindedness and free expression. Our world could benefit from this example where individuals feel free to express their beliefs and ideas through action without fear of condemnation and exclusion from those who believe differently.
Our world and community is very complex and provides many opportunities for gratitude. On this holiday, however, I am choosing to focus on my gratitude for the very existence of our incredible Pagan community.
Today I am grateful to you, my Pagan brothers and sisters, for providing a safe place, filled with compassion for me to grow in my path.
Peter Dybing
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