I have discussed in previous posts about getting messages about the coming Storm for the past two-plus years. Those messages came through in nearly everything I did that was tied to my Spirituality. Meditations, dreams, during rituals, and even while reading. But it didn’t happen every single day. Other days, everything was quiet – thankfully. But there were certain days were another message found its way into various parts of my life. And this has been around for far longer than the Storm messages have.

Become who you are. Be what you are to be. Be the Druid you are. Be the Priest you are to become.

Take a jog back and read some of the blog posts in the past, and you will see a few spots where I have had trouble dealing with all of this. Go on. Me and all the rest of the folks reading will hold on. Go on. Everyone else – coffee, tea, hot chocolate and lemon cookies are in the back of the room. Help yourselves. Ok. So, now that you have had a quick peek back, I guess the fair place to start is where I was versus where I am.

Most of my life has revolved around defining myself by the job position that I held, and the value that my employer held upon me. I have had some shitty employers in my life, and have had some even shittier jobs as well. Believe it or not, back in 2004 I actually gave tax advice over the phone for Intuit. Worst job I ever had. Hands down. But my own self-image and self-value came from what I did to make money, so I could pay the bills. Now, I work as an Institutional Research Assessment Analyst for a small college. But the reality is that I am a glorified Data Analyst. I don’t have time to do any real research or analysis of collegiate information. Most of my time is spent filing federal reports, gathering data to file state reports, or pulling data for other people’s research projects. In the private sector, I would likely be classified somewhere between a Data Analyst and a Data Retrieval Specialist. And the truth of the matter is….not one bit of that really matters.

My job is my job. I have the skillset to handle my job responsibilities. I have zero desire or inclination to climb the “ladder” within the college. If, in twenty years, I find myself in this same job position – I will be quite happy with my career progression within the college. Five years ago, I would not have said the same thing. I would be discouraged if I had not progressed within the structure to some Director position. But that was when I let my job position and the prestige behind it dictate who I was and the self-image I had. But like I said, my job is my job. It provides the money I need to pay the bills. It provides the healthcare I need to insure I continue to survive from my diabetes. It provides the monetary ability I have to attend Pagan-related conventions, music festivals, and OBOD gatherings every year. My job does not define who I am. My job does not define my self-image. I do that.

I work as an Assessment Analyst. I am a Polytheist Pagan. I am a Druid. I am a Priest of Crow. And to me, those statements are who I am. My self-image is my own. I may not see myself as someone with any large shadow to cast – I am reminded by several people that there are those that read what I write, hear what I say, and weigh that in their own terms for themselves. And in knowing that, I realize that I need to slouch less, sit up straight, and continue to be me.

Recently, I finished my Bardic Grade studies and submitted my review. I spent nearly seven years on those studies. Because I didn’t believe that I could do what I needed to. Because I let myself be defined by something I am not. I was defining myself by something that I do. Once I reversed that; once I stopped trying to be what I do, and decided to be what I am – I found my freedom to move forward. The rest of the Bardic Grade studies were difficult, and eye-opening – but I no longer had the mental blocks holding me back in my mind and attitude. That ages-old saying – “free your mind, and your ass will follow” certainly holds truth to it.

So here I am. I’m Tommy. Better known as TommyElf. I am a Polytheist Pagan. A Druid. A Bardic Grade member (hopefully soon to be in my Ovate Grade studies) of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids. A Priest of Crow. A follower of Coyote and Flidais. A Poet. I stand before Time and the Gods with my fist raised in the Wind. I define who I am. I live, learn and grow into what I am, and what I will be. I live free to make my own choices for my own life. All I ever ask of anyone else is that you do the same for yourself.