I am only one
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
- Edward Everett Hale
Good words to live by. And that’s why I am here to do something, even though I can’t do everything. I’m a 40 year old mother and wife, between careers, trying to figure out where I stand, where I’m going and how to make my life and my family’s lives better in the process. Given the current economic and social climate, my current search is hardly unusual. And I’m doubt I’m going outside the box by saying that I want the end result of my search to be a better life for myself and all who I love. But for me, and to some extent for my family, this search is as spiritual as it is practical. And that is why I’m writing.
Now for a little background: I’m an Anglo-Celtic Pagan and I’m currently actively attending a Unitarian Universalist Congregation. I used to work in law libraries but I was laid off in 2009. My college degree is in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology and I’ve also studied Anthropology, Historical Geology and Folklore. My husband and I have been married for 9 years. He works in the computer gaming industry and has a background in computer science, math and hobby game design. He’s Presbyterian and fairly liberal about his faith. We are trying to give our preschool-aged son experience in both faith traditions. We live with my mother, who is in her 80s, and spend time with my sister, who is developmentally disabled and lives in a group home nearby. Our lives are full of the practicalities of the modern Western, technological world and right now, I’m struggling to make that all-important connection with the Divine.
Until very recently, it was generally believed that it took 28 days to form a habit*. So that is what I’m hoping to do. My goal is 13 positive habits for the 13 months of the lunar year, beginning at the beginning of my sacred year, on Samhain, and ending in a year and a day, the traditional term of study or apprenticeship in the Pagan community. Some of the habits on my list are personal, like a schedule of daily devotions; some are more family oriented, like saying grace at family meals. Some are physical (being more physically active and losing weight), some are spiritual (doing ritual at the Full Moons and getting back into flame keeping), some are educational (try and read one non-fiction book a month) and some are creative (learn to quilt). I don’t think that I’ll get to everything on my list, nor do I think that everything I try will be successful. But I hope that in the end, all the habits I do create will make my life better and, by extension, my family’s lives better too.
So here is my first new habit. By writing here, I hope to chronicle my journey and all the little steps along the way. I have dysgraphia, a learning disability that focuses on writing, so nothing is going up here that hasn’t been proof read by at least two people ahead of time. Trying to put my thoughts in writing is often hard for me and this is a challenge to myself to be a better writer. I intend to post every Wednesday, with special posts on Sabbats and Esbbats as the year moves on. And in the end, I hope this will become a repository of essays, ideas, prayers, family rituals, and reviews, with a smattering of hopes and dreams.
* The current view among psychological professionals is that it actually takes 66 days to form a habit.
