Food For Thought from Colleagues: Pagan Resistance & Honoring the Body

Sannion, over at The House of Vines, recently posted two essays about coming out as a Pagan. The first agrees very closely what I've been thinking and saying for the past several years: that those of us who easily pass as mundane and who choose to come out as Pagans help lower the overall fear factor about Paganism because people can look at us and see that we are not scary. His second essay turned that around, and makes a compelling case for Pagans who do choose to be "out" to stop trying so hard to fit in to the dominant culture. I've been pondering it ever since I read it, and will continue to do so.

This morning, I read Galina Krasskova's meditation on Beltane on her "Highway to Hel" column at Patheos.com. What struck me the most was her emphasis on honoring the body.

Honoring the body is hardly a new concept in Paganism. In fact, many would argue that it's something that distinguishes most Pagan traditions from the dominant monotheistic, dualistic spiritual traditions. It's certainly a value I believe in -- in an idealistic and intellectual way.

What I realized this morning as I read Galina's column was that, when it comes right down to it, I have no idea how to truly and meaningfully honor my own body. Not in a day-by-day, pragmatic way.

And that bears thinking about.

It bears doing something as well, but I don't yet know what.