The Little Boy and Fortuna
A little boy wearied with a long journey, lay down overcome with fatigue on the very brink of a deep well. Being within an inch of falling into the water, The Goddess Fortuna, it is said, appeared to him, and waking him from his slumber, thus addressed him: "Little boy, pray wake up: for had you fallen into the well, the blame will be thrown on me, and I shall get an ill name among mortals; for I find that men are sure to blame their calamities to me, however much by their own folly they have really brought them on themselves." ~Aesop's Fables
A little boy wearied with a long journey, lay down overcome with fatigue on the very brink of a deep well. Being within an inch of falling into the water, The Goddess Fortuna, it is said, appeared to him, and waking him from his slumber, thus addressed him: "Little boy, pray wake up: for had you fallen into the well, the blame will be thrown on me, and I shall get an ill name among mortals; for I find that men are sure to blame their calamities to me, however much by their own folly they have really brought them on themselves." ~Aesop's Fables
I'm musing today on personal responsibility and how it applies to our circumstances in life.Western society is dominated by doctrine that says we are not responsible for our lives because we were born this way or that a malevolent being is out to get us, and that our only hope is to become completely dependent on an unseen deity whose intentions toward us are not always benevolent or clear. This mindset is prevalent, and I am concerned that we're creating a culture that rewards those who victimize themselves.
In my own spiritual journey, I've run the gamut of religious beliefs, spiritual paths, etc... and I found that I really liked the majority of Pagan beliefs because their gods, spiritual rites and workings (for the most part), were for grown-ups. By that, I mean that they required one to take responsibility for his/her decisions, choices and actions instead of blaming them on some deity, demi-god, fallen angel or genetic propensity. We all know there are consequences to our actions and decisions.. even in not deciding, one makes a decision that has ramifications of some sort.
Lately, what I've been seeing in Pagan circles is a tendency to claim victim-hood rather than to accept those consequences, and then blame it on one's spiritual path, which is then promptly renounced. Don't get me wrong.. I'd prefer these people weed their way out of Paganism/Witchcraft, rather than whine all day about how they performed a rite or spell that didn't work the way they intended and how it's all bullshit and they don't want anything to do with it anymore.
But, this isn't going to help these people to learn something about themselves or to grow as a human being. It's an escape and comfort for them. They no longer have to confront what happened to cause the pain they are in.. they just have to blame it all on (insert Pagan path here) and say that the path was the issue, not their choices, decision-making ability or actions.
If you have made some poor decisions in your life and are reaping the consequences, then please take responsibility for that. ALL of us.. and I do mean ALL of us have made mistakes in our lives. It's part of being human. Stop blaming Paganism or Witchcraft or Heathenry or whatever spiritual path you are on as the culprit. The way to grow and become a success is learning to handle adversity and how to make better decisions for the future. Changing spiritual paths simply because you are in an uncomfortable or unwanted place in life is not the way to enlightenment. Instead of giving perfectly valid spiritual paths a black eye, look within and learn from your mistakes. We humans tend to learn best through painful experiences. There is always a lesson and a new opportunity for growth.
As Aesop's moral says: Each of us is more or less master of our own destiny.
In my own spiritual journey, I've run the gamut of religious beliefs, spiritual paths, etc... and I found that I really liked the majority of Pagan beliefs because their gods, spiritual rites and workings (for the most part), were for grown-ups. By that, I mean that they required one to take responsibility for his/her decisions, choices and actions instead of blaming them on some deity, demi-god, fallen angel or genetic propensity. We all know there are consequences to our actions and decisions.. even in not deciding, one makes a decision that has ramifications of some sort.
Lately, what I've been seeing in Pagan circles is a tendency to claim victim-hood rather than to accept those consequences, and then blame it on one's spiritual path, which is then promptly renounced. Don't get me wrong.. I'd prefer these people weed their way out of Paganism/Witchcraft, rather than whine all day about how they performed a rite or spell that didn't work the way they intended and how it's all bullshit and they don't want anything to do with it anymore.
But, this isn't going to help these people to learn something about themselves or to grow as a human being. It's an escape and comfort for them. They no longer have to confront what happened to cause the pain they are in.. they just have to blame it all on (insert Pagan path here) and say that the path was the issue, not their choices, decision-making ability or actions.
If you have made some poor decisions in your life and are reaping the consequences, then please take responsibility for that. ALL of us.. and I do mean ALL of us have made mistakes in our lives. It's part of being human. Stop blaming Paganism or Witchcraft or Heathenry or whatever spiritual path you are on as the culprit. The way to grow and become a success is learning to handle adversity and how to make better decisions for the future. Changing spiritual paths simply because you are in an uncomfortable or unwanted place in life is not the way to enlightenment. Instead of giving perfectly valid spiritual paths a black eye, look within and learn from your mistakes. We humans tend to learn best through painful experiences. There is always a lesson and a new opportunity for growth.
As Aesop's moral says: Each of us is more or less master of our own destiny.
