One Sunny Morning in May

I remember very clearly a beautiful day in May, when I was 12 years old. I was walking to school and the sun was shining bright and warm and all the trees and bushes were bursting with greenery. I thought about how much pleasure I got from this. I agreed to myself that appreciation for nature was very important to me, and I considered this to be the foundation of my spirituality. I had been reading about this thing called paganism, which my mum told me about. She said that a pagan was someone who worshipped the Earth and the Sun and the Moon. This sounded like a good thing to me. A few of my friends were Christian and one of them had persuaded me to go to church with her. They were singing and clapping their hands and it all seemed very strange to me. I thought I better give it a try, just in case I went to Hell otherwise. After the singing and clapping, some kids were talking about how they were going to do a play about Noah's ark. This sounded like fun at first, but then I realised, to my horror, that these kids believed that the fairytale really happened. They believed that their god actually flooded the whole Earth and killed every living thing, apart from those lucky enough to get on the ark. They believed it actually happened. I knew straight away that this church business was not for me. I couldn't go along with these people, and I never went back. Another friend of mine was very interested in Buddhism, particularly Zen. We went to the library together to research it. Lucky for me, my parents had a home computer, and dial-up internet. I spent a lot of time on the computer, researching beliefs, and printing things out to read over. I had been reading about this thing called paganism, and it seemed like a great idea to me. It was on that sunny day in May that I decided that I was in fact a pagan, after reading this poem by Selena Fox....

I am a Pagan.
I am a part of the whole of Nature.
The rocks, the animals, the plants, the elements are my relatives.
Other humans are my sisters and brothers, whatever their races, colors, ages, nationalities, creeds, or sexual preferences.
The earth is my Mother and the sky is my Father.
The sun and moon are my Grandparents, and the stars my ancestors.
I am part of this large family of Nature, not the master of it.
I have my own special part to play and I seek to play that part to the best of my ability.
I seek to live in harmony with others in the family of Nature, treating others with respect, not abuse...
I am a Pagan.
I pay attention to the seasons within myself - of beginnings, growth, fruition, harvest, endings, rest, and beginnings again.
Life is a Circle with many cycles...
I am a Pagan.
I acknowledge that the Divine is everywhere in the energy of life.
I am Animistic. I sense the life force in the oak tree on the hill, in the herbs in the garden, in the birds singing at my window, in the boulders on the hill, in myself, and yes, even in "things"such as my car and computer.
I understand that everything has its physical and non-physical aspects. The physical and spiritual are deeply intertwined, not separate, and one is not better than the other.
I am a Pagan.
My worship is one of communion, not groveling.
I share my views with others when I sense it is right, but I do not proselytize - there are many ways, not one way, of spiritual growth.
My holy places are under the open sky ... in the Stone Circle in the oak grove on the top of the mound ... on the Vision Rock on the high cliff ... in the Garden in the fields ... in the Sweat lodge by the stream ... by the clear pool of the Sacred Spring ... in the Rainbow Cave in the valley.
Yet my worship can be anywhere ... my magick circle is portable.
I can call to the four quarters, to the earth and sky, and to the central spirit point wherever I may be.
I am a Pagan.
I journey to the Otherworld in my dreams, my meditations... I fly with my consciousness through time and space.
I return with insights.
I go between the worlds for healing, growth, and transformation.
Psychic perception is a natural, not supernatural, part of my daily life.
I am a Pagan.
I attune myself to the four elements of Nature - Earth, Air, Fire, Water - and to the fifth element, Spirit, which is the force that connects all.
I see these elements as parts of my self - my physical body is my earth, my intellect my air, my will my fire, my emotions my water, and my inner self is my spirit.
I endeavor to keep myself healthy and in balance in all these parts of Self.
I am a Pagan.
I hear the cries of Mother Earth.
I see the pollution of the air, the soil, and the waters.
I see the games being played by nations with the fire of nuclear weapons.
I see spiritual pollution, too - selfishness, hatred, greed for money and power, despair.
I sense these things, but I sense, too, a cleansing, healing energy manifesting on the planet at this time.
I know that I can help bring the planet into greater balance by seeking balance in my own life.
I know that my attitudes and my way of living can make a difference.
I endeavor to be a channel for healing and balance.

I am a Pagan.