There’s really no big mystery as to why I blog. I blog because it’s a good way for me to get my thoughts out there to share with others. I’m not the most forthcoming person in RealLife unless I actually know you, but in the somewhat anonymous world of the blogosphere, I can say what I feel without much fear of (physical) retaliation. Not that I am inclined to provoke others needlessly, but some of my subject matter and some of my beliefs are bound to provoke the intolerant and/or ignorant. That’s just the facts of life. I’ve had a lot of experience with intolerance, enough to make me wary of more of the same.
One of the things I am very scrupulous about is never letting anyone in my neighborhood know I am a Pagan or a Witch. It is not so much because I am afraid they will do something to me, but more because they could do something to my family. We already don’t have the best neighbors in the world, so I can easily see them doing something awful to me and mine just because they feel threatened by someone who doesn’t share their insular views. They could hurt our dog or vandalize our property. They could do something to our cars. It’s just not worth the trouble it would raise.
Everyone at work knows I am Pagan, and people who come into the bookstore looking for books on magic or Paganism find out PDQ that I am a fount of information if they ask the right questions. But beyond that, the only outlet I have for sharing my spiritual leanings are right here. And here, people can either read or not. I present my beliefs in a non-threatening format that the more intolerant can simply choose to ignore. So, everyone’s happy.
Another thing about my writing… it’s often an emotional catharsis. It’s a safe environment for me to express my anger and bitterness without actually letting the $hit hit the fan. If there’s one thing I learned from observing my father as a child, it was that I have to watch my temper. I have a tendency to bite my tongue and hold myself in check way too long and then I blow up at people. But if I write about how I feel instead, it often doesn’t come to that.
And when I am *really* angry, then I write things like my webnovel. Comparatively speaking, you wouldn’t expect someone who writes about spiritual themes like I do here to also write and read gory horror. But I don’t believe in denying the darkness that exists in all of us. To deny a part of you lets it get a hold of you from behind and direct your actions as if by accident. Better to put my angst and rages into a controlled environment and run them through their paces. That way I don’t inflict them on the unsuspecting. Some people find me morbid and unsettling, but they either get used to me or they come to avoid me.
I think horror and suspense are extremely cathartic for people in general. Even for those who only read or watch tv. I get so tired of people who say violent video games or television provoke violence in the population. I think it’s the other way around. People are so repressed trying to deny their dark sides, that they become possessed by it. If people were encouraged to find a healthy outlet for their “unhealthy” feelings, there might be less violence and cruelty in the world. It’s really important to view our negative feelings as separate but equal to the feelings society at large views as positive. It is only with understanding and healthy expression of our feelings that we can be well balanced members of society. Repression never did anyone a bit of good. It usually only makes things worse when what you kept buried comes to a head.
June 15th
The Feast of Aine, once part of the Midsummer rites, honors an Irish fire and cattle goddess. Trips to holy wells was another feature of this holy day. In a procession, torches were waved over the fields for fertility.
A law was introduced in Germany in 1233 discouraging the burning of heretics in favor of conversion.
Comments (6)
Living in fear is no life. Writing is a great outlet. Some people recognise without my intention (my year 12 english teacher) that i use writing as an outlet.
Sound like great reasons to write to me.
I can relate to repression. I hate working in a corporate environment because I feel like that part of me isn’t allowed, but is honest not to mention not so unhealthy. But I’m taking my steps to express how I feel at work and that is damn liberating.
I think you’d be interesting if I met you in person. Seriously I support and encourage you to speak up woman — — we need people like you on this planet.
I mean I understand not to reveal all, but generally speaking ya know.
Writing horror novels is very cathartic… just let all that dark stuff out.
Writing is such a great outlet with so many things. I would be completely lost without my writing!
I write for very similar reasons. Also, people always say that writing on a public blog is not private. But it is. Things are only not private when they are exposed to people I know, I sometimes believe. It is easier to ask advice of strangers about almost any aspect of your life than it is to ask someone you interact with regularly. Of course then these ‘strangers’ stop being strangers before very long and then they are friends. Sometimes better friends than some of the ones you have because you were completely open with them from the start. Sometimes I start to clam up once we pass the friends line though. Certain things become harder to discuss. It’s odd.