acceptance

being the naturally curious person that i am, I like to look up random things that come into my head on google. not long ago, I searched native american symbols and a site with "definitions" came up. it turned out that it was run by a christian group and contained the meanings of symbols from various faiths. my immediate thought was, "here we go."

at the top of the, page, there was a paragraph explaining the site. it warned the readers that different symbols mean different things to people, and that we should not judge those who wear them. that pleasantly surprised me. so far, so good.

the author turned out to be a sneaky little bugger though. while most of the descriptions were surprisingly accurate, some contained what I'll call side comments. the two descriptions that stand foremost in my mind are amulets and dream catchers. both of them, after the description, had the disclaimer, "don't believe the myth!!!"

...really? no neither will save you from being hit by a bus, but they both are believed to repel negative energy. hell, the dream catcher is believed to destroy it. these beliefs promote positive thinking, which does amazing things for the health of one's body, mind, and soul. is that such a bad thing? I think not.

further on down the, page there was a link to an online book. according to this, women, being the silly, easily manipulated creatures we are, FLOCK to occultism. we see the biblical god as too harsh and look for something that is more compassionate and open-minded, (both are bad things apparently) and something that fits better with our own twisted version of truth as opposed to "biblical truth." .....right....well, if drugging and raping your father so you can conceive is truth you can keep it.

this guy almost had me. nice talk, what with the thou shalt not judge crap, but hypocrisy reared it's ugly head didn't it? granted, the judgement was subtle, but it was still there. NON-judgement would mean facts. no more, no less. "this is what this symbol means to those who believe in it." end of story. why add your own, personal beliefs on the subject. NON-judgement would mean not drawing your own conclusions about why someone practices their chosen religion, and not stating that there is something wrong with it. faith, by definition, belief, in something intangible that cannot be proved. if it COULD be proved, it would be called something else - science. truth is, despite holier-than-thou attitudes, we are all humans with no real knowledge of what's out there. talk to the witnesses of a crime. one hundred people see the same thing, yet you will get probably close to twenty different descriptions of the event and the perpetrator. none of them will be 100% correct, but none will be 100% wrong either. you don't have to agree with someone's beliefs, but who are you to say they're wrong?

peace, love, and unity. blessed be