goddessing

cosmology, consciousness, contrariness
goddess religion: pagan blog
www.goddessmystic.com


Cabin Fever 

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Cabin Fever posted by Sage -- 7:16 PM.
Blogger: Comment (3). Haloscan: . .



Peach, © 2006 My Beloved


"Ooh baby, it's cold outside."

Peach is looking out the west window of the Cat Temple-in-progress. He and Rutile and Bun and we are adjusting to this new space. It's still full of packed boxes, still needing some comfy furniture for human/cat co-lounging, still several months from a formal consecration.

These cats know they're adored. They don't know that we have spring plans for them: outdoor kitty spaces. We're looking at using these kitty walks as part of a system we're planning. I suppose that's what you do when you live up north, in winter, when it's bright, sunny, and cold outside: You long for sun and plan your outdoor life.


Quan in Winter 

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Quan in Winter posted by Sage -- 12:59 PM.
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Quan Yin Under Snow, Our Front Yard, © 2006 My Beloved


Pleasure 

Friday, February 03, 2006

Pleasure posted by Sage -- 3:50 AM.
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Last night, when it was still Imbolc somewhere in the world, the Imbolc Issue of MatriFocus went live. I went to bed both exhausted and jazzed. Though my body is still aching from the requisite excessive time sitting in the chair at the computer doing the inevitable several days' worth of last-minute things, this work is one of my great pleasures.

Pleasure and play recur in my musings on personal cosmology and have taken center stage in my current round of meditations. Doing some research on feminism for the new Feminist Wave Dynamics section of MatriFocus (please check out the call for writers), I came across the following quote from wikipedia's Feminism entry:

In Marilyn French's seminal works analyzing patriarchy and its effects on the world at large--including women, men and children--she defines patriarchy as a system that values power over life, control over pleasure, and dominance over happiness. According to French, "it is not enough either to devise a morality that will allow the human race simply to survive. Survival is an evil when it entails existing in a state of wretchedness. Intrinsic to survival and continuation is felicity, pleasure. Pleasure has been much maligned, diminished by philosophers and conquerors as a value for the timid, the small-minded, the self-indulgent. "Virtue" involves the renunciation of pleasure in the name of some higher purpose, a purpose that involves power (for men) or sacrifice (for women). Pleasure is described as shallow and frivolous in a world of high-minded, serious purpose. But pleasure does not exclude serious pursuits or intentions, indeed, it is found in them, and it is the only real reason for staying alive."


Yes! Campbell and French could be combined: Follow your bliss; it is the only real reason for staying alive.