Thoughts on Imbolc

While I might have let the sabbat pass me by, it's not too late to appreciate the meaning of Imbolc. Just a few hours ago I read this heartwarming article by Cliff Seruntine entitled "Promises of Imbolg" and it gave me something to think about it.

I've been walking around campus a lot lately, and here in northern New Jersey we've got lovely banks of ice-covered snow glistening as far as the eye can see. The sidewalks are all graced with either ice or a slightly-more-slippery layer of slush. The same sentiments emanate from everyone's lips: "When will it be spring?" and "I can't take anymore snow!" I have to wonder if I'm the only one truly enjoying what remains of the winter.

So when I consider the promises that Imbolc brings, I appreciate not only the imminent spring, but also the warning it gives us: winter is almost over, so enjoy the rest of it while you can.  As I write this I look out of my dorm window at a small patch of woods which is covered in a blanked of snow. The bare trees rise up between thick patches of fog. It's a peaceful kind of evening up on the mountain. I'm drinking in the last of the quiet before the sweet cacophony of spring!

There Comes a Time

We are living in an age of cripple. The technology we possess is a phenomenal blessing; but it is also a nigh-unshakable curse. Children born in and after my generation are growing up plugged in. Computers, the internet, social media, cell phones...all are so ingrained on us from the moment we figure out how to type that it becomes difficult to step away from the monitor. It's true that this technology is a miracle - a revolution sparks in Egypt and I, sitting in my dorm room in northern New Jersey, know about it five minutes later. At the same time I believe it diminishes our "selves." Emotionally, socially, and spiritually we suffer from our dependence on technology.

Three days ago Imbolc came...and went. I posted a status on Facebook to wish everyone a blessed Imbolc. That was the extent of my celebration. I am spiritually charged but systematically lazy. This needs to change. Not another sabbat will pass me by while I type away at a keyboard, catching up on news feeds and updating all my social networking mediums. Techno dependency is a disability which can at least be managed, if not overcome. This blog will be about religion, nature, spirituality, life, and tracking my journey to a more spiritual me.