I was reading a Christian blog on Patheos (yeah, I read what other religions think) and ran into this piece by the Progressive Christian. I rolled my eyes and snickered over such ludicrous hand-wringing over The Apotheosis of Washington because apparently some people take the image literally and not symbolically.
I vaguely remember seeing this when I visited the Capitol building many moons ago as a child/teenager, and I recall my own emotions over it, but I think I leave that to a little later while I discuss the piece.
My sister called me and told me that an unknown relative contacted her. Apparently the grandson of my deceased uncle was doing research into my mom’s side of the family and somehow tracked us down to find out what we knew.
Well, blood is apparently thicker than water. And much to my chagrin, I am not adopted. “Why?” you may ask. Because the grandson, whom I’ll call Thor for privacy sake, is just like me.
Poor kid. And he reproduced.
[Facepalm]
How it Happened
Thor received the call of the ancestors when his own kid started asking questions about his relatives. Seems Thor really didn’t have much to go on originally, having never been in touch with my mom’s relatives. I wasn’t particularly interested in staying in contact with my mom’s side since I had so little in common with them. My relatives always dismissed me as a loner and a weird intellectual with nothing in common with them. They were mainly into shopping and impressing people. I couldn’t give a damn about what people thought of me unless it got me beat up. (Yeah, I had a few scuffles when I was a kid.) So, when my sister told me that Thor was doing research and needed some info, I chatted with him over the Internet.
Shit. He did a similar career route as I did. He likes the same stuff I do. He even has the same sleep habits. He is a smart ass too. Thor confirmed some things my dad told me before he died (and I confirmed Thor’s research). I was able to tell him some stories, which probably thrilled him.
The Pull of the Ancestors
I’m always amazed when the Ancestors step into people’s lives. I figured mine wanted as much to do with me as I did with them. Many were rather unsavory characters whom most people wouldn’t be excited to boast about. My medieval ancestors were Vikings and Normans (troublemakers) who went as high as dukes on one side and knights on the other. Their descendants were sadly nowhere near as glamorous by the time the 19th century rolled around. So, I pretty much decided that I had little to do with them. Even when Tyr called me into Heathenry, I was generic in my veneration of ancestors with the secret hope that maybe I got switched at birth. No such luck. Thor proves I’m out of the same fucking lines.
So, I’m feeling the pull of the ancestors as well. I’ll be going through all the old notes my parents passed onto me and see if it puts together the pieces for Thor. Maybe Thor will be able to tell his child where he came from and what kind of people were his relatives — the good and the bad stories — ugly warts and all. And maybe the kid will be interested in those of us who are still around.
Where Did I Come From?
It seems that we all have a need to understand where we come from, whether from royalty or paupers, criminals or heroes, sinners or saints. It helps us understand who we are and what influenced us genetically. It used to be that we believed it was DNA and how we grew up determined our behavior and traits, but epigenetic inheritance has kind of thrown a monkey wrench into it. We know that certain stresses on people can cause epigenetic marks on RNA. By learning about our ancestors’ past, we can understand how their experiences might impact us. Of course, this is a relatively new field with new studies all the time.
So, if our ancestors’ experience modified our genes, we’re not only a product of their genes but also their experiences. It helps us understand ourselves much better. While not all experiences are going to leave an impact on our genes, certain some do. In which case, we’re not just a product of millions of years of combining DNA but also millions of years of hominid experiences. It may explain weird things like phobias or body types.
We Are All Stories in the End
It’s interesting, because even though many of my relatives are now dead, their stories seem to fascinate the younger relatives. As The Doctor said, “We are all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh?” As humans, we need to tell stories and to understand where we came from. Part of the draw to our ancestors is by asking “where did I come from?” we’re trying to answer the question: “who am I?”
Long after my ashes are scattered, the younger generations will ask “who am I?” and “where did I come from?” The only thing left on this planet will be stories, if they’re left at all. Hopefully, I’ll be making it a good one.
As you know, I’m not a believer in magic, per se. I’ve spent a lot of my time in the rational and scientific realm where seeing is believing. In other words, you have to have a rational explanation for why something happens. The concept of “magic” was a ludicrous idea. Which makes my paganism that much more out of place. And yet, I’ve had incidents occur which suggest that maybe there’s a deeper connection to things than just what we can measure. Read More for Just $1.
This is what happens when Firefox and Pocket recommend articles for me to read. Sadly, I am an Internet junkie–I was addicted to the Internet long before the concept of Internet addiction came into existence–and I had to read the blog with their 18 questions. Unfortunately, I can’t take the questions–or myself–seriously, so I thought I would give you my honest (and hopefully, amusing) answers.
You may be wondering how I expect to improve myself with my bad attitude. I really don’t. If I wanted to improve myself, I would swear off computers for good and go live in a cave. But I can’t, and I don’t. Look, I’m now playing Age of Empires: Castle Siege, and trying to beat the shit out of other kingdoms.
Oh yeah…questions. Here goes:
1. In one sentence, who are you?
Look, is this a trick question? Now, I have The Who’s lyrics running through my brain:
I woke up in a Soho doorway
A policeman knew my name
He said you can go sleep at home tonight
If you can get up and walk away
—Who Are You by The Who, written by Peter Townshend. Okay, I’m The Rational Heathen.Enough said.
2. In one word, what do you live for?
10 million dollars. Okay, that’s three words.
I kind of like: Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of the women.
Yeah, I kind of like that. And I know that’s 15 words.
3. What is worth the pain?
Pain? Are you serious? Fuck that shit.
I guess it depends on your definition of pain. If you’re talking childbirth-pain, I opted out of that. So, the next question of mine would be: what kind of pain are we talking about? You mean muscle strains? That’s pretty minor. Are you talking broken bones? Been there. Dog bites? Yeah, I’ve got holes in my arms. Accidents? Waking up in the hospital with tubes hanging out of you is no fun. So, what is worth that?
My point is that there is pain and there are annoying inconveniences. Pain is something that warns you to not do something stupid. Stuff that causes annoying inconveniences can be dealt with. So, pain is relative.
I’m not saying to not strive for lofty goals. Hels bells, I’m one of those who have done some pretty hair-raising shit and lived, but the reality is that if you’re truly committed to a particular goal, the effort it takes will pale in comparison to the prize. The problem is when you sacrifice yourself, your morals, and your family to achieve that goal. In other words, you shouldn’t destroy yourself over an obsession.
4. What will you never give up on?
Chocolate. There, I’ve said it.
This question is like the previous question. There are things you will stick to and things you will let go of. Be aware that some things should be given up when they’re a lost cause or an obsession. You can’t always will things to go your way.
That is a lesson I have learned the hard way.
5. What do you always try to avoid?
Filling out forms and doing bookkeeping. I hate it.
6. What is something you take for granted every day?
Sleep.
7. What do you need most right now?
Ten million dollars. Oh, and sleep.
8. What would you immediately do differently if you knew no one would judge you?
Are we talking legal judging? Or are we talking societal pressures here? If it is legal judging, I know of several assholes who would get a serious smackdown. And they deserve it.
As for societal pressures, hmmm. I don’t give a shit what people think about me. It’s pretty obvious.
9. What’s something nobody could ever steal from you?
Can’t take the sky from me.
10. Who would you like to forgive right now?
Oh, there’s a Christian thing here. You know, I have very little forgiveness left. Those I’ve wanted to forgive, I’ve already forgiven. Those I have not forgiven, I won’t because I don’t trust them to behave any differently. At the same time, I don’t stay awake thinking about what they’ve done. They’re gone from my life.
11. Happiness is not __________?
Getting your teeth pulled out. Unless you are in pain from a bunch of rotten teeth. Then, you might be happy. Or a masochist.
12. What impact do you want to leave on the people you love?
Sounds painful. How about a good story?
13.Life is too short to tolerate _________?
Assholes. And bad olive oil. In that order.
14. What’s something that used to scare you but no longer does?
Birds.
Seriously. Back in high school, crows used to fly at me. Guess I pissed off Odin sometime. Now I’ve handled birds from quail to large raptors.
15. What do you want to remember forever?
How about just remember? Probably where I left my keys.
16. What do you always look forward to?
Hunting season.
17. What recently reminded you how fast time flies?
Oh, thanks for reminding me of this. My upcoming birthday.
18. What’s something everyone should be able to say before they die?
Dinner was good.
Okay, so I’m not so deep. Maybe you have better answers than I do.
I started doing research about New Year’s celebrations and ended up laughing at Christian pages that talk about how pagan celebrating the New Year is and how “good Christians” shouldn’t celebrate it. Whatever, bro. Tell that to the millions–if not billions–of partiers who are happy to ring in the New Year.
Holy Days of Obligation and the History Behind New Year’s Day Celebrations
Technically, New Year’s Day is a Christian celebration. Granted, a co-opted Christian celebration, but one just the same. The Roman Catholic Church couldn’t get past the Roman tradition of celebrating Saturnalia and the the first day of the month honoring the god, Janus, so it co-opted the celebrations and made New Year’s Day the celebration of Jesus’s circumcision. Vatican II made it a holy day of obligation in 1969 to venerate the “Virgin” Mary. Just so you would go to mass with a hell of a hangover and hear the priest rail against those who indulged the night before.
But to a large degree, those Christian web pages are right. Celebrating New Year’s Day is technically pagan. The first celebrations of the New Year happened during Mesopotamian times some 4000 years ago on the vernal equinox (that being their new year.) The Romans celebrated New Year’s on the Ides of March (remember Julius Caesar?) The Romans eventually switched their calendar over to January 1st since that was the day when they inaugurated new consuls and tended to keep track of years by consul terms.
A Holiday for the World
You look at just about any civilization that kept a calendar and you’ll find some sort of New Year’s celebration or observance. The Hindus recognize New Year during different times depending on the region. We Heathens recognize December 21st as our new year where the veil between the worlds are at their thinnest. The Wiccans recognize Samhain as being their new year. The Chinese and Vietnamese celebrate their own version of New Year’s sometime between January 20th and February 20th, depending on when their year ends. That’s a lot of non-Christians celebrating the beginning of a new year.
Why Celebrate the Ending of an Old Year and the Coming of a New One?
I think the reason why the new year is so appealing is to turn over a new leaf, as it were. It’s a time to reflect on the past year and hope for a better year ahead. It’s as if we collectively want to step back and take a breath from what we’re doing to celebrate the possibilities that lie ahead. We, as humans, need a time to say good-bye to the old and hello to the new. Hence, we celebrate the coming of the new year.
Happy New Year, my friends and readers! I hope 2018 is filled with wonder and magic for you.
