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    • Prairie Tidings (Church Blog)
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Mountain Ancestors Grove, ADF

A Year of Contemplation

Consider Your Failings Too (Day 243)

8/31/2019

 
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Image by John Hain from Pixabay

Everyone screws up, and it’s unfortunate that in our moments of righteous complaining about the performance of others, we forget that we, too, have a history of screwing up in our past. All too easily do we forget how many times we’ve failed when we’re in the throes of disappointment and blame.

If we can manage to look past our egos, we’ll see that it’s never really pragmatic to lose our compassion and perspective.

Be kind to those who fail, because there was a time where we wanted that same kindness in the midst of our own failures. Be kind… it’s the right thing to do.

-end-

Before I offer my traditional closing, I’d like to take a moment to mark the time that’s past (⅔ of a year), and recap what we’ve covered so far. The first four months covered the Discipline of Perception, and the second four just concluded the Discipline of the Action. We’re about to begin the final four months and the final Discipline, the Discipline of Will.

I’d like to thank the people who’ve been along for the ride over the last eight months, and hope that you’ve been getting something out of these musings. I know I have. This practice of reflection and incorporation has been very rewarding for me, and I truly pray that you, dear reader, have been equally rewarded.

That being said, I’ll (See y’all tomorrow) for the beginning of the final third.

When You Feel Lazy (Day 242)

8/30/2019

 
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Image Credit: Google Image - Artist Unknown

“What’s my motivation?!?”

There was a period in America’s near-history where the above phrase was, at least for a short time, part of our country’s pop cultural sayings. Taken from the acting community, this saying is meant to parody an actor’s honest struggle to get into a role when they cannot see for themselves what’s motivating their character to do the things they do. Used out of context, the phrase is a response to one’s feeling unmotivated or lazy when it comes to completing a task. 

But really, there’s a lot to that question when we ask it, in sincerity, to ourselves. 

What actually motivates us? Why do we do what we do, no matter what it is we’re doing? Why do we work the job we work, or why do we stay in certain relationships when they can be toxic? What’s the impelling force moves us? Do we act, or not act out of fear, or spite, or exhaustion? What, precisely, is our motivation? 

When we’re able to answer those questions, and more, we’ll become people whose actions reflect their words, each movement reflecting what motivates us, each moment met with intention and meaning. We won’t take on things for egoic reasons, or out of some pathological need to volunteer. We won’t do something with ulterior motives in hopes to get what we really want later. 

When our minds and bodies and spirits are moving together, as one, in the same direction, we become a force of change in the world; however, when our minds are at home on our unfinished Netflix series, and our bodies are at work performing menial tasks, how could we ever hope to unlock the key to laziness when the parts of our holistic-being aren’t even in the same location. 

Today’s takeaway: When we’re feeling lazy, bring body, mind and spirit to the same place and time. In that moment, our motivation will make itself known. 

Walk hand-in-hand with it out of laziness’ fog. 

(See y’all tomorrow) 

Want Nothing = Have Everything (Day 241)

8/29/2019

 
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Image Credit: Wm. E. Ashton, II

No person has the power to have everything they want, but it is in their power not to want what they don’t have, and to cheerfully put to good use what they do have.”
Seneca, Moral Letters, 123.3

​When we value what we already have, it’s easy to curb our egoic desire to have more and more… 

… AND today is the 14th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina making landfall just east of my hometown, New Orleans, Louisiana, as well as the surrounding Gulf Coast area. 

Today, I’m going to sit with grief, the absurdity of life, and remember the absolute differences between “want” and “need”. 

(See y’all tomorrow)

The Opulent Stoic (Day 240)

8/28/2019

 
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Image Credit - quotefancy

The title of today's post is derived from the pejorative name given to Seneca (typically, behind his back) by his Roman contemporaries. Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a wealthy person, you see, during a time when it was fashionable for those who practiced and studied philosophy to apparently be poor, of mendicant status, or to be supported financially by wealthy patrons (of course, the flow of finances was dependent on the appraisal value of the lessons given by those ignorant to their inherent value in the first place - #EgoBullshit). 

It was true, Seneca did indeed have vast wealth, but I believe the difference between most people’s relationship with wealth and Seneca’s was that Seneca KNEW he didn’t NEED this wealth to be happy. There was no dependence upon it, no identity created by it’s existence, and no addiction to it… simply put, he understood his wealth to be something beyond his control, and that he himself must only do good in the world, regardless of whether he was wealthy or not. This type of approach to wealth is pragmatic, like this month’s core-lesson. Most other approaches to wealth come down the moral road, but just like in Seneca’s case, we’re trying to separate ego from wealth. 

Remember, financial success does not come with a requirement that one must live beyond one’s means. 

Ultimately, we can be happy with next to nothing… if we want to. 

(See y’all tomorrow) 

Laugh, or Cry? (Day 239)

8/27/2019

 
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Image Credit: IMGBIN

Heraclitus would shed tears whenever he went out in public - Democritus laughed. One saw the whole as a parade of miseries, the other of follies. And so, we should take a lighter view of things and bear them with an easy spirit, for it is more human to laugh at life than to lament it.” 
Seneca, On Tranquility of Mind, 15.2

This is one of my favorite lessons on the pragmatic life, as it highlights, for me, the Ziglarian adage: Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. (Ziglar, See You at the Top, p. 204)

When we get angry or sad, it’s often due to circumstances or factors beyond our control. If we can manage, we take a breath, return to the present moment, gain pragmatic perspective… and choose to laugh about it. 

Why? 

Because if we were watching a sitcom, we’d be laughing our asses off at some dumbass character getting comically frustrated over something they had ZERO control over. Think I’m wrong? Find someone who knows the 1970’s sitcom All in the Family… they’ll tell you all about Archie Bunker, a “kind-hearted” racist and bigot who’d spend 30 minutes every week getting the nation to laugh at our own stupidity and ignorance for getting worked up over things beyond our control through his antics and abusive dialogue. 

I mean, shit… who wouldn’t laugh at that? (#Sarchasm #RacismIsNeverFunny)

But what about now? Now, in a world where the US is now synonymous with ignorance, bigotry, and racism (as if it wasn't before)? Do we curl up into a ball and cry? Do we go to the nearest streetcorner and loudly complain about the state of things? Do we use our social media like that streetcorner? Do we choose to be like Heraclitus? 

If we relate to the problems, and the -isms in such a way where we’re always lamenting about them, we can never hold in our hearts the joy of something better, something different. 

A light spirit rises above, is able to laugh, AND steps forward to change the world. 

Laughter lightens, and attitudes alter. 

(See y’all tomorrow) 

Seeking Out Shipwrecks (Day 238)

8/26/2019

 
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Image by Egor Shitikov from Pixabay

Zeno, the founder of Stoicism and wealthy trader, came to the realizations of Stoicism after being in a shipwreck and losing everything. 

It was the shipwreck that created the opportunity to self-examine, pare down his life, and study in Athens… since that was where he ended up when crashing between Phoenicia and Peiraeus. 

The entire philosophy of Stoicism is built on the foundation of being able to achieve enlightenment and the good life after terrible circumstances befall you. 

With that spirit in us, how could we not “seek out” shipwrecks? 

We adapt and change and grow BECAUSE WE HAVE TO. 

Embrace challenge… and grow! 

(See y’all tomorrow) 

Respect the Past, but be Open to the Future (Day 237)

8/25/2019

 
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There’s no fish sauce in gumbo… or is there?

You might be asking, “Rev. Badger, what on earth are you talkin’ about?” Stick around and you’ll see. Now, on to today’s topic:

Traditions and dyed-in-the-wool customs, some might argue, are the foundations of what makes a people who they are. Those most sacred and meaningful instructions and modalities from the past are enshrined in a people’s folxoul - the intertwining, shared people-spirit of a group or subgroup - and it’s here where respect for the past begins.

As life moves forward and we grow and change, we are exposed to a greater world beyond our own families and subcultures, and it’s in that exploring where an openness to things that are new and different enter into the individual consciousness. If we’re practicing Courage and can find our curiosity, we might even try these new things. Sometimes, we’ll go so far as to embrace these new ways and customs that we can celebrate diversity and differences more fully through our human experience.

What’s all this got to do with fish sauce and gumbo?

Before the Vietnam war, Louisiana was populated with a lot more European folx, percentage-wise, and gumbo was influenced by those cultures. Before continuing, I believe it’s important to note that without the Senegalese slaves and Louisiana’s local First Nations tribes (Choctaw, Chitimacha, Houma, etc.) bringing okra and sassafras root, the two seminal things that made original gumbo what it was, there would have been nothing for the Europeans to build upon. Spices and peppers from the Spanish, cured meats from the Germans and the Polish, thickening roux from the French… over time, these things from gumbo’s future started, one by one, to become the present of the dish.

After the Vietnam war, many refugees and asylum-seekers from the fall of Saigon came to Louisiana to find a new home, and claim their piece of the promises made to them by the US. Once there, they were easily swept into the seafood culture of Louisiana, and before you knew it, some of their culinary staples made their way into the mix… hence, fish sauce in gumbo.

I’ve yet to try it, although I’ve promised friends and congregants that the next time I make gumbo, I’m going to add the fish sauce.

Not every family knows their culinary history; however, I’m blessed to be able to tell the story of my family’s gumbo, and I look forward to the day where fish sauce can be a part of it. Why? Because Asian people are now a part of MY people… a part of Louisiana.

While obsessing over and honoring gumbo’s past, we couldn’t have possibly known that fish sauce would be in its future…

… and the pragmatic thing to do would be to stay open to its presence.

(See y’all tomorrow)

Pillage from All Sources (Day 236)

8/24/2019

 
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Image by Pexels from Pixabay

I’ll never be ashamed to quote a bad writer with a good saying.”
Seneca, On Tranquility of Mind, 11.8

​When we’re on the quest for Wisdom, it’s all about data. Does it matter what the source? Does the wisdom of “do unto others” not apply to you if you’re Pagan or Hindu? What about medicine? So much of what we know about modern medicine came out of horrific practices to the underserved and underprivileged. Do we throw that valuable information away because of how it came to be, or because of what terrible people made the discoveries? 

Oddly enough, Isaac Bonewits’ magical Law of Pragmatism comes into play here when we’re talking about “all sources”. I say it was odd because Bonewits was posthumously implicated in being sexually inappropriate with children. He was a great scholar, brilliant thinker, and crucial player in the growth of neopaganism in the US… and there are implications on his character. Do we toss the wisdom out with the bathwater? I’d hope not. 

In any case, Bonewits’ Law of Pragmatism states: If a pattern of belief or behavior enables a being to survive and to accomplish chosen goals, than that belief or behavior is “true” or “real” or “sensible” on whatever levels of reality are involved. In other words, if it works, then it’s true. (Bonewits, Real Magic, p. 13-14)

So, all sources, as long as they’re true and valid, are valuable. 

Filtering the wheat from the chaff is just a part of gathering the wheat. 

(See y’all tomorrow) 

It’s In Your Self-Interest (Day 235)

8/23/2019

 
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Image Credit: Innovation in Practice

Hmmm… there’s a big difference between: 

Don’t do (whatever)! The gods do not approve,

And, 

Don’t do (whatever) because it’ll make you miserable. 

Your self-interest will tell you the difference, in case you need a hand. 

And so...

May we each be a model for the ways less-miserable. 

It’s in our own self-interests, after all. 

(See y’all tomorrow)

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff (Day 234)

8/22/2019

 
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Image Credit: Getty Images

In other words… 

Don’t waste one moment of your time (which if you didn’t know already, is THE most valuable, least renewable commodity human beings have) on things that are hollow and of little value for the greater good. 

I can hear some of you now: “That’s easy for you to say, Rev. Badger. You don’t have a “regular” job. Most of us work because we simply need the money, and that work is often meaningless, but I still have to do it.” I get that, and here’s my response: If one is obligated to things that don’t matter (for whatever reason), then spend as little time and worry on those things as humanly possible. 

If you spend a disproportionate amount of time on things that don’t matter, if you feed the “small stuff” your attention and energy, then the small stuff will definitely grow into bigger stuff… and thus, fulfilling the self-fulfilling prophecy you didn’t even know you had.

Think about what’s happening under-the-hood of “sweating the small stuff”. What’s happening is that small stuff is stealing time from more inherently valuable things: love, family, health, thus making those truly important things less important through your action and/or inaction. 

Don’t give your most valuable resource to something or someone who wouldn’t do the same for you. 

Sweating the small stuff makes one a small person. 

May we put our sweat toward growth, and not staying small. 

(See y’all tomorrow)
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    About the Blog

    Awakening the desire to explore Stoicism, and how it relates to his existing beliefs, Rev. William committed to working through the text, The Daily Stoic, a year-long journey to awaken the Stoic mind. 
    How things are structured can be found in the first post. 

    About the Author

    Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Rev. William attended Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado where in 2007 he graduated with a degree in Religious Studies, minoring in Psychology. Currently residing in Longmont, CO, he is one of the Priests and founder of Mountain Ancestors Grove.  He spends his time playing mandolin (and some guitar), writing, engaging in LGBTQIA+ advocacy and education, community service, and sharing a larger vision of how a polytheist perspective can lead to greater human understanding, acceptance, and gods be good, peace. 

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