There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
— Edith Wharton

It is better to light one small candle in the dark than to get all hot and sweaty trying to light a grape.
— Martha Hickey

Tags: daily thoughts
Current Location: Home

 Blessings to all! I am a solitary Celtic Wiccan and have been for sometime. I used to be on LJ and have returned after a long hiatus. I follow a structured wiccan path using celtic elements from druidry and Ireland. I hope to meet interesting people and share my experiences with you all. Blessed Be!

Current Location: Work
Mood Swing: bored

Dear world,

I CAN HAS COFFEE!
I'm gonna be flittering around this office today like a fairy straight outta Fern Gully. WHEE. My good mood, let me show you it.

Except. Except I caught up with this week's BSG and it made me cry. "Faith" was easily the best episode so far this season. But then I watched the guilty pleasure show, and, uh... do me now, Rufus Humphrey. Ahem. I am shamed.

La. Lalala. La.

Tags: fandom
Mood Swing: whee

The hosts of NPR's "All Things Considered" were in China doing a story when the earthquake hit.

Here's their blog about the events leading up to and after the earthquake. There's even audio of an interview being conducted right when the earthquake hits. Yes, you can hear the earthquake. So, what started out to be a series of reports from China has turned into an 'on the spot' story for NPR. They were there when it happened.

 So I would like to ask a serious philosophical question if I may.  First, I'm going to take it as a given that everyone in this community is generally against dominionism, and that we are generally in a struggle or state of conflict to keep dominionists from curtailing our freedoms.  Obviously, as with any conflict, it can escalate or de-escalate depending on the actions of either side or both sides.  Speech is met with speech, campaigns with campaigns, ads with ads, petitions with petitions, etc.  Responses can vary, but my point mainly is that, for example, speech is not met with anything so escalated as violent revolt.

I would also posit that the optimal outcome is to make agreement, or alignment, so that all parties are happy, all parties' needs are met, and so on, rather than to "win" in a zero sum game where someone has to lose.  Obviously, that ideal is not always achievable, because sometimes two things can happen:  A) one side, for whatever reasons, be it needs they don't want to put on the table to have met, or needs they don't even know about or won't acknowledge, refuses to accept that such a win-win agreement can be reached, and so insists that the differences are irreducible, ultimate, and/or irreconcilable, or B) some needs really will just conflict, like a 7-10 split in bowling, and a hard choice has to be made.

I think an argument can be made that dominionists really are of the former stripe, but convince their rank-and-file components that they are of the latter.  As a result, I really do think that some traction can be gained trying to dislodge the rank and file from the "voices" of dominionism so that, at least with them, a win-win agreement can be reached.  However, I don't think the same is true of the voices (I hesitate to say "leaders," because it's not exactly that kind of dynamic).  Moreover, I think the voices can convince some or a lot of their rank and file not to give in to agreement, and to stick with the conflict.

Once all the negotiation, talk, and agreement has run its course and there is no one left but those with whom there is no agreement to be reached, the only thing to do is to treat it as a conflict and win it as swiftly, efficiently, decisively, and humanely as possible.  That prospect is no small one, because once you commit to that, you commit to actions that may do lasting harm.  At that point, you accept that "this town ain't big enough" for two conflicting sets of needs, and, as the Eagles put it, "Somebody's going to emergency, and somebody's going to jail." 

So my question is:  At what point do you feel that agreement has yielded all the fruit it ever will, and it is time to reach, draw, cut to kill, and move on?  What are the signs of that?  Who qualifies for that reaction and how?  What if we come to that point?  Why would you assess it has come to that point?  What lines would you cross or not cross?

As another matter, reasonable people would prefer not to force the above scenario, but there are clearly people who, for whatever reason, are unable to resolve conflict without it.  I would posit that, for example, there are dominionists who only pay lip service to the concept that their god wants a peaceful resolution, but believe in their heart that God's victory is not a victory without the grand conflict of armageddon, wherein a lot of people will suffer.

So how do you know when you're dealing with someone who can be reasoned with, vs. someone who needs the conflict?  What do you do about it?  how do you deal with them?  What if you can't?  Why would someone take that attitude? 

EDIT:  I didn't intend "violence" to be a major player in the discussion, though I do see how it can apply.  I think I made a mistake in using "violence" metaphors to illustrate my model of conflict resolution, but what I meant more than physical violence is "confrontation," a conflict that, while not necessarily violent, does involve victory at the expense of defeat.

...for all the kind responses to my last two posts.

My heart is breaking for my cousin, and I clearly still have much to do re: putting the pieces of my own life back together, and yet, really, it's not all doom and gloom around here. Can't exactly say it's party time, either, but there are so many graces and moments of beauty and things to be grateful for, mixed in amongst the hard stuff.

Supportive flisters, for one. :-)

Realized last night that, while I've always given the obligatory lip-service to the idea that initiations truly and only come from (insert metaphysical superlative of your choice here), and that when they do they are unmistakable, I've never known it to be true.

Now, I do.

Hi, I am new to this community and to LJ. I am a practising solitary wiccan, and have been for ten years now. I started when i was thirteen. I joined this community to meet other solitary wiccans/pagans and just to talk about what we go through as solitaries. So I just thought I would say hello, and Blessed be!

Jenny 

Mood Swing: happy

So...I didn't even get the laptop out last night. I didn't write, I didn't edit. Nothing.

Well, I played with a wee, wee kitty who like fits in the palm of my hand.

She's quite vocal with this adorable little, wee meow. Her face is tiny and her eyes are huge and this beautiful blue-gray color. I have her locked in my room for the day, as the dogs are still getting used to her. She has food and water, her little cave thingy, litter box and a few toys, but she's mostly just hiding under the bed.

She's so wee I'm sometimes afraid to pick her up, like I might break her!

My dog mostly wants to pretend she doesn't exist, but she's an old hand at this "new animals in the house" thing. Delilah...well, she's not the bravest of doggy souls to begin with and this is her first "new animal in the house" experience, so I'll cut her some slack. Morrigan is not afraid of either of them, going on the offensive as soon as either of them get too close for comfort, adding to Delilah's fear, I suppose.

It's positively adorable to watch her get all "killer kitty" on this dog who is like 100 times bigger than she is.

I promise to inundate you with pictures just as soon as I have my laptop back so I can download them, and just as soon as I can get her to sit still long enough to get more than some blurry gray fuzz.

Now, I must work. Well, drive to work. But I have Steve on my CD player to keep me company.

Question(s) for the day: Are you a pet person? Dog, cat, other? What is the first pet you remember having? Got any right now?

Tags: kitty, morrigan
Mood Swing: KITTY!!

Tags: meditation
Mood Swing: contemplative

http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/molly.asp

The story of Molly, a horse with an artificial leg.