After crying over another soppy TV show (and I admit I
sometimes seek these out for therapeutic reasons), I got to thinking again
about why we cry. Not the purely
mechanical crying over onions or physical exertion, but emotional tears, and
particularly those triggered by a good story.
Obviously these stories, and I extend these to
religious myths, touch us because they deal with issues present or past in our
own lives. As my mentor Kate once said,
all religions are about how we deal with change in our lives. And as someone else once said, all stories
are about the Fall (and, I would add, about redemption). It depends on your perspective which Fall
you’re talking about; it could be “original sin” in the Christian sense (the
loss of innocence and Paradise), the Cabalistic fall separating us from the
spiritual world, the loss of a job, the loss of a loved one through death or
marital breakup, the loss of our own self-esteem through suffering from addiction,
abuse, discrimination, gender dysphoria... the list goes on.
The journey of our lives is often the journey of loss,
change, and trying to find our way back.
We may find solace in stories of dying and reborn gods, of journeys to
the underworld in search of truth, in pathworking on the Tree of Life, in the
cycles of the Moon and the seasons. And
as we make the difficult journeys through change, hearing stories of those who
find their way back from loss to redemption cause us to cry, either because
we’re still on that journey, or still feel the echoes in our lives. (Spoilers...)
In The Princess Bride, Buttercup
and Westley are reunited in true love; Dustin Hoffman’s character in Kramer vs. Kramer awkwardly crashes a
company Christmas party because he swore to his son he’d have a job before
Christmas; Colin Firth’s character in Love,
Actually, travels to a town in France and publicly proposes to the love of
his life in broken Portuguese; down and out boxer Rocky Balboa fights champion
Apollo Creed the full fifteen rounds; Ricky Gervais’ character in After Life overcomes the cynicism and
suicidal tendencies following the loss of his wife to see the value in other
people’s lives, and begins to love again.
The important thing to remember is that as much as we
may feel we are alone on our journey, we never really are. “Love is all around,” as the songs go, and
even if we are unable to reach out, if only to help other people on their
journey, others are always ready to reach out to us. New beginnings after loss, and the promise of
redemption: appropriate things to think about, in this season of Ostara and
yes, Easter.
April Events:
Note these
events are listed for information purposes only; no endorsement should be
necessarily implied. Dates and locations may be subject to change; see the
source for details. If I’ve missed anyone and you’d like to add to this
listing, please contact me. All times MDT.
Apr 1: All
Fools’ Day.
Apr 5, 7:00 pm:
Calgary Witches’ Meeting at Circles of Rhythm Drum Circle, Inglewood
Community Centre.
Apr 5, 2:50 am:
New Moon. Lunar Month of
Saille/Willow begins.
Apr 8: 5 years
until 2024 Total Eclipse!
Apr 12, 7:00 pm:
Circles of Rhythm Drum Circle (see Apr 5).
Apr 13, 11:00 am: Calgary Kinky
Flea Market at Forest Heights Community Centre.
Apr 13, 6:45 pm: Calgary Cuddle Party
hosted by Numinous Creations, at Scarboro Community Hall. https://www.facebook.com/events/2034577453256633/
Apr 15: Celtic Tree-Month of
Saille/Willow begins, according to Graves and Llewellyn.
Apr 16: Alberta Provincial
Election. You know what to do.
Apr 19, 7:00 pm: Circles of
Rhythm Drum Circle (see Apr 5).
Apr
19, 5:12 am: Full (Pink) Moon.
Apr 21: Easter
Sunday.
Apr 22: Earth
Day.
Apr 25-28:
Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo at Stampede Park. No honey badger cosplay allowed. http://calgaryexpo.com
Apr 26, 7:00 pm: Circles of Rhythm Drum Circle (see Mar 1).
Apr 27, 10:00 am:
Just be YYC at The Village, 4039 Brentwood Road NW. https://www.facebook.com/events/427222687816218/
Apr 27, 7:00 pm:
Calgary Heathens Meet and Greet.
Apr 28, 6:30 pm:
“Rhythm Cradle: A Night of Musical Healing” hosted by Circles of
Rhythm. https://www.facebook.com/events/2182980862017502/
May 1: Beltane.
May 4, 10:00 am:
Third Annual Lethbridge PaganFest at Galt Gardens, sponsored by Southern
Alberta Pagan Association. https://www.facebook.com/events/401460783751145/
