Pagan Studies
A syncretic approach to esoteric teachings - the golden threads that connect Pagans, Yogis, Rosicrucians and Masons.
The Problem With Being Twenty-five
Many of the world's greatest songs, poems and novels were penned by people under 30. Back then we were already empathetic, educated, full of restless energy and oh-so-intelligent.
Every single day we wanted things to HAPPEN! But there were aspects of life that we hadn't experienced, about which we could only speculate. Years later, even in those cases where our speculations had been fairly accurate, living through the actual reality was far more traumatic than we had ever imagined.
Which is not to say that we hadn't done our best to prepare ourselves. We were desperate in our attempts to figure it all out ahead of time; if we could do that, it would give us a sense of security. That is when we formed many of our spiritual convictions.
My actor and actress friends in the Theatre were able to give convincing portrayals of older people going through tremendous trials. Naively, the general public often lionizes such performers for what seems to be a sensitivity, intuition and wisdom far beyond their years. What the public never seems to understand is that the actor's performance is supported by an entire team of professionals - the inspired words of a brilliant writer, the guidance of a gifted director, the skills of makeup artists, costume designers and lighting technicians. Our combined efforts create a totally convincing illusion. And if the performance is on film, there is another person even more powerful - the one who made the final cuts and editing! That omnipotent being can make you look like a moron or a God.
That is the main reason why so many Show Business weddings end in divorce: the other spouse expected to be marrying the sterling, sympathetic character portrayed in the movie or on stage - not the messed-up, insecure artist who created him or her. We are so good at acting the part, that even we performers are enchanted by its magick spell - until the spell is broken. "I knew I was playing a character - but I thought YOU were really like that!" We excuse our own weaknesses far more generously than those of our fantasy love interest.
Bottom line: regardless of intelligence, education, instinct or pre-acting, people can never really know what an experience will do to them until they actually go through it. And that applies to all of us, regardless of our spiritual beliefs.
Life will always contain surprises for us, both pleasant and un. As Master Shakespeare put it, "There are many things in the womb of time that will be delivered." Until an entity is birthed, there is no way for us to know what it will look like or what it may grow into.
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