Newbies read this! (especially teens)
Pagan Elders - who is one?
Fluffy Bunnies / Sweetness and Light Pagans - am I one?
A Volunteer's Ego - or Volunteerism is an Expression of Spirituality
Let's Screw! - or Promiscuous Sex does not, Alone, Constitute a Spiritual Tradition
Masculine Spirituality,
Coming to Grips with the Mystery of the Feminine - or Living as a Spiritually Male Being in a Female Body
Urban Paganism - aka Hypocracy
Rural Paganism - aka Living Your Beliefs
more...
more...
more...
more...I'm open to suggestions
Volunteerism is an Expression of Spirituality
The following is used with permission. Please respect the rights of authors, on- and off-line.
" Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1999 07:23:58 -0600
From: "Tom Chapin" Subject: The Best Things in Life are Free
Purple Jenny
Dana writes:
There is this notion--a notion to which I ascribe--that people
do not appreciate what they get for free.
I disagree. One pertinent example is The Pagan Picnic. People from
all over the country seem to really appreciate that, and no entrance fee
is charged.
[Tom Begins]There is an entirely different dimension of value in what is freely given
and freely received. That is why I have always resisted advice that I
should charge money for the Calendar. I have always found that, even when
the time and expense are great, the spiritual rewards are greater than any
monetary recompense could be.
To appreciate the difference between what is free and what is purchased,
consider the difference between love given for free and love given for
money.
When I was in the astrological community back in Chicago, the battle raged
(and still rages) whether anyone ought to do charts or teach for free. I
got to hear every argument that could be made. And, ultimately, I decided
that spiritual values outweighed, (at least for me) monetary values. And
that controversy is one reason I became a Pagan. My Paganism has always
hearkened to the values from the distant past that we may have been losing
in our monetarist modern culture where the primary religious war has been
between two religions of Mammon, Capitalism and Communism, both of which
claim that all values can ultimately be reduced to money. I looked for
more, and think Paganism can give more.
I see Paganism as allowing us to recover values of our hunter-gatherer
ancestors where necessities were shared rather than sold. I even see parts
of our Internet culture as retrieving and reconstructing those values. For
instance, programmers worldwide are freely sharing with one another and
creating freeware versions of Unix, an operating system that would cost many
thousands of dollars if it were to be sold. I consider those folks to be
Pagan in their spirit and values, even if they don't use the name.
And in that light I totally agree with Jenny that "the people" have shown
greatest appreciation for what has been most free. And I can appreciate the
nostalgia I have heard from many people about the "good old days" of CAST
when it was less involved with money and when money and how to make more of
it didn't seem to be the primary topic of conversation at our meetings.
Perhaps we should discuss what CAST sees as its primary mission. Should it
try to be of service to our community, or try to sell goods and services to
the community? And in having that discussion we could find out what
Paganism means to each of us.
Tom"
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