I love to wander through various parts of the internet and take in what is available.  Lately, I’ve been wandering through YouTube – checking out various videos.  The topics are mostly related to my dissertation, such as “cyber warfare”, “cryptography”, “linux”, and various interviews from three of my biggest heroes:  Steve Wozniak, Bruce Schneier, and the awesomeness of Dan Kaminsky.  However, I’ve also had the opportunity to peek into various videos on Paganism as well.  Sadly, I found myself stopping a large majority of the videos prior to the end of the presentation.  Why?  The most common factor came down to the presentation of the material as “what ‘x’ is not”.  This seemed to be the most common theme throughout the videos – including the anti-Paganism videos presented as some of the most hateful statements I have honestly ever heard.

That’s when I realized something — I’m just as guilty of the “this is what I’m not” approach as well.  Instead of approaching the presentation of my own faith and beliefs as “this is what I am”, I’ve also utilized the “this is what I’m not” approach.  And I can see what a major turn-off that it is.  I’ve made the statement “I’m not a Wiccan” quite a lot — which is true, I’m not.  But its a negative statement that, while true, sets a comparison as the representation.  Instead, I should be stating:  I’m a Pagan on the path of Druidry.  I stepped onto this Path because I love the outdoors.  My “church” is comprised of trees, bushes, grass, wide-open skies.  My fellow church-goers tend to have fur, feathers, and sometimes scales.  They speak in languages I cannot comprehend, but there is joy in our being together – and we find other ways to bridge our language barriers.  I find reverence in knowing that I am a part of the world around me – and have my own place within it.  Each rising sun brings another adventure. Each setting sun allows me to reflect on the adventure I have just experienced.  Each night allows me to rest, relax and reflect (my three R’s) on the day, while awaiting the next solar cycle of the day.  For me, this is what defines who I am, why I am, and how I am.  The where doesn’t matter – though it can add some flavor to the day’s adventure.

While I try to live my life in a positive manner — focusing on the “what I am” instead of the “what I am not” — I also know that I will be unable to escape the “not” side of life completely.  There are times where such comparisons will inevitably made.  But the choice of when I make those types of comparisons is for me to decide.

In the meantime — the sun is up, I have a cup of coffee with me, and the birds are visiting the seed and water out by my backyard stone circle.  For me, this is the definition of Life I seek…one day at time, one experience at a time.