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.
