Joys & Trials

I was tagged earlier this week by my blogger friend Kati over at Dragonfly's Musings. Kati loves to share about her family - hubby and daughter - plus her thoughts and opinions on a wide variety of topics. I thoroughly enjoy her blog. And when she tagged me with this meme, I was happy to take a shot at it.

The Joys & Trials meme works like this...

1. You have to use your own belief system for the meme. No fair using someone else’s to make a joke or satire. Being humorous about your own religion is encouraged!
   
2. You have to have at least one joy and one trial. More are encouraged. And no, they don’t have to be equal in length, but please be honest.
   
3. You have to tag at least one other person. More are appreciated!
   
4. Please post these rules!

I liked thinking about this one because it really did give me a chance for some reflection about both the good and the not-so-good of my spirituality. And here is what I came up with...

Joys

• I like that my spirituality connects me strongly with nature, the cycles of the earth, the changing of the seasons.
• I like that I have the freedom to make my own decisions and choices about how I view and interact with the divine.
• I like the sense of mystery and magic.
• I like that some rituals can be traced back for hundreds of years, and yet, can still be individualized and personalized - making them most special for me while connecting me with the past.
• I like that my family loves celebrating some of the holidays - particularly Samhain and Yule.

Trials

• It is a bit lonely to follow a spiritual path when there are no others around who follow the same path.
• Having grown up in a very rigid and rule-governed religion, there is sometimes a sense of a lack of direction as there is no leader or minister to guide my practice.
• Having come to this pathway late in life, I often feel there is so much to learn and so little time.

And two of my trials are so similar to what Kati expressed...

• Holidays can fall at the most inopportune times since they relate to seasons, phases of the moon, etc. It is not always easy to celebrate on a school night. LOL
• The names chosen by some practicing members can be very off-putting.

And now I get the additional joy of tagging someone else. Sometimes it is hard to decide just who to tag for a meme. But this time it was easy. I'm tagging Wizened Wizard. I've read her blog for the past year and she has amazed me with stories of her life. She continues to lead a life so full of rich experiences and diversity. And I'm really curious to get a peek into how her spirituality - whatever that might be - has played a role in her life.

Ladies and Gentlemen...

I present to you, the Class of 2011!!

That's right, Daughter13 is starting her freshman year in high school. Orientation was yesterday. Tryouts for the freshman girl's volleyball team was today. As my wife says, "our little baby is going to high school!"

I know when she got up on Friday she was pretty much the same person as when she went to bed on Thursday night. And yet, in her new shirt and jeans, heading off to high school, she suddenly looked taller. And older. More grown up.

How can that be my little girl?!?!

Damn, they do grow up fast. Sometimes, it seems like it happens overnight.

Re-entry

Twenty days since I last posted. Ten days since I last came to work. Eight days since I even saw my house. Vacation is a marvelous thing!

I swam, boated, walked on the beach, collected shells, played "Go Fish", built campfires, cooked over the open campfire, read good books, slept late, watched a lot of movies, ate a lot of great food, and really enjoyed just hanging out with my family.

And now, back to work. For me, not a bad thing. I love my job and I enjoy the people around me. And for someone who has spent their entire life as either a student or a teacher in some fashion, the beginning of the school year is always an exciting time. A fresh start. New people to meet. New back-to-school clothes. New pencils and folders and notebooks. And the excitement of new projects and new tasks.

And for the first time for me, the return from vacation also brings me back to my blogger friends! I greatly appreciate those of you who sent an e-mail to check up on me during my absence. I can't wait to wander through my bloglines account and find out what has been going on with all you guys! Might take me a while to catch up with that much reading...but that will be fun, too!