This evening I found myself pondering just how far I would travel in order to find my spiritual home. I have travelled over 14,000 miles to feel more comfortable about my beliefs and practices. I know others who have emigrated, too. Its not an unknown thing.
I was unable to feel spiritually connected to my land of birth, so I felt I had no other choice but to leave. I wonder, though, how others on a similar path to me cope being in a foreign land? I know of several druid and other celtic style groups in Australia, but if they ever experience a feeling of being disconnected?
I know the Vikings tooks their gods with them, whilst the Roman would mix and match, sometimes bringing their own, but often appeasing the local gods. I am not sure how connected they felt to their own gods being such long distances from their home. I know they continued to honour and worship, but was that just out of habit, or did their gods really travel with them?
I was unable to feel spiritually connected to my land of birth, so I felt I had no other choice but to leave. I wonder, though, how others on a similar path to me cope being in a foreign land? I know of several druid and other celtic style groups in Australia, but if they ever experience a feeling of being disconnected?
I know the Vikings tooks their gods with them, whilst the Roman would mix and match, sometimes bringing their own, but often appeasing the local gods. I am not sure how connected they felt to their own gods being such long distances from their home. I know they continued to honour and worship, but was that just out of habit, or did their gods really travel with them? From my point of view, however, my gods had not been in my home country long enough to establish themselves, and the indigenous spirits had been in occupation for over 18,000 years, uninterrupted or corrupted. The local spirits were quite overpowering and knowledge about them was seldom shared with those outside the indigenous community. In order to know the genius loci of my birthplace, you needed almost complete comprehension of the ways of the local people - you couldn't apply western principles to the honouring of local gods. I had understood this even as a child in my interractions with local people.
I know some immigrants to my land of birth brought other gods and spirits and these did have an impact, but mostly in the cities and suburbs. Even so, those that you might encounter seemed out of place in the landscape.
I did feel it important to travel to the land of my forebears and to try and establish connections to them and to the genius loci of their birth place. Its important to me and something I put ahead of my work and even my family. I do wonder - is that going too far?
How far would the readers of this blog travel, I wonder.
I know some immigrants to my land of birth brought other gods and spirits and these did have an impact, but mostly in the cities and suburbs. Even so, those that you might encounter seemed out of place in the landscape.
I did feel it important to travel to the land of my forebears and to try and establish connections to them and to the genius loci of their birth place. Its important to me and something I put ahead of my work and even my family. I do wonder - is that going too far?
How far would the readers of this blog travel, I wonder.
4 comments:
you know my feelings but you ask, how far would I go?... I will travel to the UK to visit my ancestral home, to trace my roots, but truthfully, I don't think i could move from Australia.. as much as i don't feel a connection. I believe that my journey in this life is to find that connection, after all Australia is still part of Mother Earth(I just posted about this on my blog today)... I think, if I moved, I would miss the wildness of our land, the vivid jewel colours, the birds and the flowers... they are different as you know to any found anywhere else in the world.. I love how we have vast open spaces and magick in the bush...I would miss the sky and how far away it seems...
I was going to say to you that I know a lovely lady in Australia who feels adrift sometimes, but I get here to find she has already posted above (Hi Robyn!)
I am lucky that i strongly feel this land is where I should be. I was pulled to the SW from the SE, and feel so incredibly 'right' now, its hard to explain.
Incidentally, I spent 7 years of my childhood in NSW, and Australia is beautiful too, its just my heart soul and spirit belong here, without any doubt,
Leanne x
I know the draw of Cornwall, and would have considered moving there, had I not visited the NW of Scotland.
I'm trying to make my home wherever I'm put! I think the challenge about spiritual homes can be about trying to make the best of what you've got. I'm in what I suppose would be my spiritual home; but facing the prospect of having to move away. There'll be things and places I can identify with wherever I end up - and who knows, I might find something truly amazing, just by getting out of my comfort zone.
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