True Freedom
"When I became convinced that the universe was natural, That all the
ghosts and gods were myths, There entered into my brain, into my soul,
into every drop of my blood, The sense, the feeling, the joy of freedom.
The walls of my prison crumbled and fell. The dungeon was flooded with
light And all the bolts and bars and manacles turned to dust. I was no
longer a servant, a serf, or a slave. There was for me no master in all
the wide world, not even in infinite space.
I was free to think. Free to express my thoughts, Free to live in my own ideal. Free to live for myself, and those I loved. Free to use all my faculties, all my senses. Free to spread imagination’s wings, Free to investigate, to guess, and dream and hope. Free to judge and determine for myself. Free to reject all ignorant and cruel creeds, All the inspired books that savages have produced, And the barbarous legends of the past. Free from sanctified mistakes and “holy” lies. Free from the fear of eternal pain, Free from the winged monsters of the night. Free from devils, ghosts and gods. For the first time I was free.
There were no prohibited places in all of the realm of thought. No error, no space where fancy could not spread her painted wings. No chains for my limbs. No lashes for my back. No flames for my flesh. No Master’s frown or threat, No following in another’s steps. No need to bow or cringe or crawl, or utter lying words. I was free; I stood erect and fearlessly, joyously faced all worlds.
My heart was filled with gratitude, with thankfulness, And went out in love to all the heroes, the thinkers who gave their lives For liberty of hand and brain, For the freedom of labor and thought to those who fell On the fierce fields of war. To those who died in dungeons, bound in chains, To those by fire consumed, To all the wise, the good, the brave of every land Whose thoughts and deeds have given freedom to the sons of men. And then, I vowed to grasp the torch that they held, and hold it high, That light might conquer darkness still."----"Bob" Ingersoll
I wasn't raised in a truly religious house. My mom had some bad Catholic experiences, and so we didn't really keep it up. But we had all the guilt and weirdness associated with being raised by a lifelong Catholic. So when I was old enough to decide for myself, I became pagan. Very soon after, I had a child and I was of the opinion that you HAD to have a spirituality when you have a child, so I raised him pagan. There was spirituality and an afterlife and an overarching protector, all things that I thought a child needed and wanted. And, admittedly, as a single parent, it was really nice to have a community. Something it never occurred to me that atheists had. Besides, paganism allowed me (mostly) to live in my atheistic world, because it was open and accepting and as long as I said the words and remembered the holidays, I belonged.
But as my child got older and didn't need a god anymore, I questioned what I was doing there. I started to notice the hypocrisy, the hierarchy, the charlatanism. Not that this was unique to paganism, of course, but how was it different than any other organized religion?
So I left.
And that's when I realized I was truly free. I could think or feel whatever I wanted. I didn't have to cow-tow to gods, or elders, or anyone. I was free to call a spade a spade. I didn't have to revere a pedophile, or a misogynist or condone behavior I didn't agree with because it was an elder. I was beholden to no one but the people I choose to hold and love in my life.
I met wonderful people during those years, and I can credit paganism and some of my elders with making me a better and wiser person. I wouldn't be the person I am today without those experiences and the love and support of many in the community.
But it's run its course and served its purpose. I'm sad for any friends I lost when I left, but we all have to make choices that are good for us. Sometimes that means leaving things, and people, behind.
I was free to think. Free to express my thoughts, Free to live in my own ideal. Free to live for myself, and those I loved. Free to use all my faculties, all my senses. Free to spread imagination’s wings, Free to investigate, to guess, and dream and hope. Free to judge and determine for myself. Free to reject all ignorant and cruel creeds, All the inspired books that savages have produced, And the barbarous legends of the past. Free from sanctified mistakes and “holy” lies. Free from the fear of eternal pain, Free from the winged monsters of the night. Free from devils, ghosts and gods. For the first time I was free.
There were no prohibited places in all of the realm of thought. No error, no space where fancy could not spread her painted wings. No chains for my limbs. No lashes for my back. No flames for my flesh. No Master’s frown or threat, No following in another’s steps. No need to bow or cringe or crawl, or utter lying words. I was free; I stood erect and fearlessly, joyously faced all worlds.
My heart was filled with gratitude, with thankfulness, And went out in love to all the heroes, the thinkers who gave their lives For liberty of hand and brain, For the freedom of labor and thought to those who fell On the fierce fields of war. To those who died in dungeons, bound in chains, To those by fire consumed, To all the wise, the good, the brave of every land Whose thoughts and deeds have given freedom to the sons of men. And then, I vowed to grasp the torch that they held, and hold it high, That light might conquer darkness still."----"Bob" Ingersoll
I wasn't raised in a truly religious house. My mom had some bad Catholic experiences, and so we didn't really keep it up. But we had all the guilt and weirdness associated with being raised by a lifelong Catholic. So when I was old enough to decide for myself, I became pagan. Very soon after, I had a child and I was of the opinion that you HAD to have a spirituality when you have a child, so I raised him pagan. There was spirituality and an afterlife and an overarching protector, all things that I thought a child needed and wanted. And, admittedly, as a single parent, it was really nice to have a community. Something it never occurred to me that atheists had. Besides, paganism allowed me (mostly) to live in my atheistic world, because it was open and accepting and as long as I said the words and remembered the holidays, I belonged.
But as my child got older and didn't need a god anymore, I questioned what I was doing there. I started to notice the hypocrisy, the hierarchy, the charlatanism. Not that this was unique to paganism, of course, but how was it different than any other organized religion?
So I left.
And that's when I realized I was truly free. I could think or feel whatever I wanted. I didn't have to cow-tow to gods, or elders, or anyone. I was free to call a spade a spade. I didn't have to revere a pedophile, or a misogynist or condone behavior I didn't agree with because it was an elder. I was beholden to no one but the people I choose to hold and love in my life.
I met wonderful people during those years, and I can credit paganism and some of my elders with making me a better and wiser person. I wouldn't be the person I am today without those experiences and the love and support of many in the community.
But it's run its course and served its purpose. I'm sad for any friends I lost when I left, but we all have to make choices that are good for us. Sometimes that means leaving things, and people, behind.
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