give me a solstice to celebrate any day…

 "there are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. there is only our natural world. 

religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds" ... 

anne nicol gaylor, founder, freedom from religion foundation

why is it presumed everyone is christian - or that at the very least everybody celebrates christian festivals? there are many that aren't, and don't... we aren't, by constitution, or law, a christian country... we don't have a state religion... we are a nation encompassing many beliefs - and yet we only close down for christian 'observances' - whatever happened to separation of church and state?

like many i don't believe in the christian god or christ - hey, jesus i'll concede existed, a documented historical figure – but i believe, as do others, he was just an ordinary man fighting for reform within the judaic religion he followed - a man who could be considered a religious revolutionary - not son of any god… after his ‘martyrdom’ christianity and it's bible certainly became one hell of a fairytale - and one brutally intolerant doctrine...

i'm not wiccan, pagan, jewish, islamic or buddhist either - i don't follow any of the myriad spiritual or religious doctrines that make up our society... i consider myself an earthling, one of many sentient life forms inhabiting this earth… my belief lies firmly within nature - in the natural world and all it’s wonders, the equality & complementarity of all creatures of this planet, home to us all...

i have to ask though, if you are christian, do you follow the basic, important tenets of your christianity – the 10 commandments, the religion's 'rules'... the 6th commandment – though shalt not kill - is an interesting one... do you partake of the death industry? do you eat the product of someone else's 'kill'? do you wear someone else's skin? if so how does that fit within the christian ethic?

 

i hate the in-your-face crass commercialism and consumerism pushed heavily at this time of year, and i feel sickened at the 'saturation' of  repugnant advertisements exhorting  people to eat flesh - the dead, cooked carcasses of once living beings displayed with such morbid delight in the anticipation of the taste of suffering and death… the brutality and cruelty perpetrated by the death industry is horrendous…  

 

paul mccarney once said "if slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian"… but I came across this graphic and couldn’t help but nod my head in agreement…

and there's still more life seen as commodity - the factory farming of our companion animals - more cruelty and abuse... and many from these deplorable facilities end up in shelters... please don't help this cruel industry continue to exist... 'animals are for life, not just for xmas'... if you are looking for a companion, please consider offering a forever home to a shelter animal desperately waiting for rescue, for the chance to know compassion and love...

 

ahhh yes, the summer solstice - far worthier of celebration... we are all dependent on the changing seasonal cycles, and the summer solstice in the southern hemisphere – where “the earth’s south pole is tilted towards the sun ... is, usually, the longest day of the year” – is due to occur on december 22 this year – far more crucial to the earth's well-being than xmas... happy summer solstice...