Without Men, we women wouldn't know the joys of motherhood, the frustrations of marriage or the beauty of romantic love. They are a must but they are also our opposites. Without Darkness, we could never appreciate the light. Without Evil, good would just be another bland thing that happens day after day. Without these contrasts, there is no reason or room for spiritual growth.
Too many times I have seen people take things people say and deem them as negative. But, is it truly negative? There are some things, that we can say for sure that people consider to be negative. The bombing of the Twin Towers was negative. The Civil war was negative. Telling people that they are going to go to hell if they don't "find God" is negative. Some might even say that expressing yourself in such a way to release the tension of having to deal with an unpleasant situation is being negative. The question then becomes to what did these things lead.
The bombing of the twin towers led to a more united nation here in the US. I can honestly say it was the first time in my 31 years, that I couldn't go to town without seeing a flag hanging from a rearview mirror, antenna or stuck to the back window in sticker form. The south forgot that NY was full of Yankees and sent as much help as we could to try and help save Americans. For once in our long history since the Civil War, we were not worried about the color of the skin of the person working beside us. We didn't care what the parental lineage was of the person who was just found alive and we didn't care if they were Christian, Jew, or even Pagan. What was important was that another soul survived. The civil war was a horrible thing that brought freedom to a group of people who had long been oppressed because of the color of their skin. It brought new opportunities to people who had never had them before. But, it also destroyed as many lives as it saved. Telling people they are going to hell opens up doors of discussion that can help to bring enlightenment if the person whose saying it doesn't have a closed mind to other possible beliefs and are willing to listen. The same of course can be said of the person who was just told they are going to hell. Last, but not least, is the idea of negativity in speech. We all have our perceptions of things and people. We all come from different places and different views. Yet, often times we cannot get past what people say to see the truth of their words.
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to J. Rebecca Cougill's Pagan Resources topic, please visit the Discussions page.