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<p>I’d like to share something a little different today, a poem I wrote when I was a teenager. For some reason I’ve always remembered it:</p>
<p><center>Purple petals,</center><center>Pleading politely,</center><center>Perhaps praying.</center><center>Quietly quivering,</center><center>Questioning quests,</center><center>Quelling Queens.</center></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Those of you who enjoy poetry and remember high school may have guessed that we were studying Edgar Allen Poe and alliteration was the goal</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">To be honest I’m pretty sure I’d smoked a joint and was just laying in the grass, thinking about life. Remember how you thought about life as a teenager? LOL! Those days were really something. Everything was larger than life. It really bothered and puzzled me how over the centuries women had consistently been treated as sub human. I mean, what could my future life possibly hold for me, A WOMAN? I struggled with my identity and my spirituality.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">At some point I read a book called, “<em>The Feminine Face of God</em>” by Sherry Ruth Anderson and Patricia Hopkins. It was a series of interviews with women all over America about “the unfolding of the sacred in their lives.” I wish I still had my copy because I had noted my thoughts in the margins. That was a pivotal point in my life when I realized that I didn’t have to follow main stream religion to find my spirituality. Did you know that spirituality is a BASIC HUMAN NEED? It ranks up there with food and shelter. So what’s my point?</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Every person on this planet believes something. Christians, Pagans, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and even Cultists have core religious beliefs that help guide them through their lives. Yes…there are extremists who misinterpret what their sacred texts are telling them. I say “misinterpret” because EVERY religion has a common thread, missives if you will, that teach us to treat each other with respect and love. In my opinion people that kill in the name of religion have misinterpreted those teachings. A very good example is a short story by Steven King, “Children of the Corn”. If you haven’t read it or watched the movie you should. My Father believed that LOVE is the strongest force on this planet and I agree! Please respect and love one another. I believe that this alone will make life better all over this planet.</p>
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<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="http://artemisnorth.com/1514-2/">A Poem and Short Ramble on Spirituality</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://artemisnorth.com">ArtemisNorth</a>.</p>