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| Author: Posted: Sep. 8, 2002 | This Page Viewed: 7,015,795 |
Question of the Week: 85 - 11/17/2002 What’s Your Motivation? What motivates you? What is the guiding principle(s) by which you steer your course? The Rede? Freedom and Justice for All? Honor? Kindness? Truth? Have you ever had to wrestle with conflicting impulses or actions that may be contrary to what you hold to be your guide? How did you resolve it? Is there a quotation (or quotations) that best sums up the ideals that you try to live up to or that is your inspiration? Please share it! |
| Reponses: There are 97 responses posted to this question. | Reverse Sort |
| Principle | Nov 18th. at 11:43:18 am EST |
| Nikos Wolf (Maine, USA) | Age: 21 - Email |
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The guiding principles of my life come, first and foremost, from Nature. Observing how Nature operates, learning many spiritual lessons from animal teachers and my spirit guide, the wolf, and basically gleening as much information as I can from being in Nature and learning of its ways. For instance, taking only what you need and being wary of taking too much from Nature is a high priority for me. Another biggy for me is the understanding that Nature shows us we are NOT the superior species, rather one of many equipped with thier own tools for survival. Thus, when all other forms of life become equally valid as your own, you take on a much more holistic and natural ethic. However, as humans, I feel a more human-oriented set of ethics can be very helpful and fulfilling, so long as they keep to heart to larger picture - Nature. So, for my actual set of ethics and values, I take what is a combination of similair principles from my Celtic Reconstructionist path and from the Asatru's Nine Noble Virtues, both very like systems that place honor, hospitality, personal responsibility, and courage - among many others - as the highest ethical traits. I find them to be very life-affirming, encouraging the very best of people, and in my own case, re-affirming my connection to the community and, on the larger scale, to Nature itself. |
| Motivation... | Nov 18th. at 11:46:43 am EST |
| Sylvian A. Elessar (Norway) | Age: 24 - Email |
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Motivation for me can be any number of things. But mostly what kept me going on in life was curiosity. I had a tendency to wonder what would happen in the morrow. Curiosity even got me through a rather depressing period of my life, when I was tempted to end it. But nowadays I tend to merely exist. There is no perticular "driving force" in my life at the time being. I tend to take each moment as it comes along. Never dwelling on things past, or worrying about future events. The moment now is what counts. Well... Enough of my endless babble... Lord and Lady bless. Sylvian A. |
| My Beliefs | Nov 18th. at 12:00:01 pm EST |
| Ravenseye, Mafdet-Athtor (Miami, Florida) | Age: 15 - Email |
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When I was younger, I believed in the Wiccan Rede blindly. That was when I was beginning on the Path, everything I heard about Wicca I readily accepted. I did not learn it for myself, and blind faith is not a thing I would like to lead my life by. Later, when I found my Path was not Wicca but a worship of the ancient gods of Tamera, my ideology also changed. True, I still wish to do what is best for others. But evil is not always repaid, and justice is not always found. The world may be unjust, and this is because the gods are as human as we are, and they decide at times what may not be best. I will always remember what my dearest friend Raven told me. "To be divine is not perfection, and pefection cannot be found only in the divine. To be divine is to have control, and so not human may ever be divine, and yet with even the slightest compassion in our hearts we have attained perfection. It is for this that the unjust occurs, for as we envy and adore the gods they envy our lives upon Gaia." This is what I live by. I live knowing that, though I worship the great beauty of the old ones and look upon them with awe and wonder, they cannot give me all the answers. I am not their only follower. What of their other devotioners? Am I to think they will answer all my prayers, some that do not fit into the plan of fate, at the expense of ignoring all the rest? To think this would be selfish for me, so I do what I must for myself above all else. The gods will care for the rest. That quote above, I will always live by it. |
| My Motivation... | Nov 18th. at 1:52:48 pm EST |
| IzzyPocus (Las Cruces, New Mexico) | Age: 19 - Email |
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Believing that divinity is immanent within all things in nature, and thus humans, my motivation comes purely from knowing that all the strength and needs I have will be fulfilled by the Goddess and God within. I know it probably sounds cheesy, but this keeps me going because I fully believe in having personal responsibility and the fact that we ourselves can do alot towards "fixing" whatever problems we personally experience. Goddess Bless, Erin |
| Duality | Nov 18th. at 1:52:53 pm EST |
| Stephanie Bolen (Hickory, NC) | Age: 20 - Email |
|
I believe in the Wiccan Rede and especially the rule of three. Before I consider doing a spell I must consider if I will be able to accept the adverse or positive ramifications of messing with the universe. In spells, I acknowledge that I understand and accept the unforseeable consequenses of my actions. I keep spells as a last resort because they are powerful and should not be used lightly. And also if they are used incorrectly with no mind to the forces being called upon they can cause very bad things to happen. I believe spells are like fire; helpful, comforting, and healing, but also destructive if used unwisely and unwell. |
| Guardian | Nov 18th. at 3:36:01 pm EST |
| Donovan O'Shay Parker (Ironstation , NC) | Age: 20 - Email |
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I am here to help all those around me and to do the best that I can to in that reguard. My family comes first even before me. They mean everything to me. I guess that's why I chose the name Guardian. |
| Love Is The Law. | Nov 18th. at 3:42:54 pm EST |
| nadiwolf (wi.) | Age: 20 - Email |
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whenever i do something magickal, it is for love and the good of all. my everyday routines are all influenced by the law of love. I try to live by thw ways of the heart. thw rede has inspired, influenced, humiliated and motivated me to do good by others as well as myself. i believe that selfless love is the most divine gift of all. it fills my heart with warmth to know that i hel[ped someone and can help someone. to recieve love is a great spiritual awakening and therapy. when the words of the great goddess are truly heard,: for love is my law,above all else. then peace and tranquility can truly prevail. selfless love,love of the mother earth.love of family and freinds,and the most greatest yet complicated of them all,love of your self. so, whenever i do something or am gonna do or say something negative,i remember that hate breeds hate but love breeds peace and compassion. then i am motivated to do the right thing. " love makes the world go round." |
| Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due... | Nov 18th. at 4:36:28 pm EST |
| MoonOwl (Egypt Lake, Florida) | Age: 39 - Email |
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Thank you Crystal for the information! Desiderata was written by Max Ehrman (1872-1945) in the 1920's. He was a lawyer from Terre Haute, Indiana. Smart man! Thanks again!! |
| Balance And Honor | Nov 18th. at 4:49:03 pm EST |
| Joy (Louisville KY) | Age: 39 - Email |
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I think what motivates me above all other things is the quest for balance in all aspects of life. It's very hard to be balanced, don't you think? For example, when you're irritated at someone, it's hard to examine what you have brought from yourself into that irritation. Honor is very important to me. I find discussions of what individuals believe to be "honorable" actions fascinating. And I guess that, although I do not consider myself "Wiccan," the "an' it harm none, do what ye will" part of the Rede pretty much sums up my guiding principle, since I believe it to be a symbol of balance. As far as impulses that conflict with that, well, if it wasn't hard, it wouldn't be a very good principle, would it? Last, I think the quote that I try to keep in mind comes from my Tarot pamplet, as one of the Divinity meanings of the Chariot: "Greatness can be achieved when mental and physical powers are kept in balance." |
| My Motivation | Nov 18th. at 5:13:22 pm EST |
| Starling (Montreal, Canada) | Age: 24 - Email |
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I try to live and let live as much as possible. I don't like people telling me how to act or what to think. I don't like to be attacked on my opinions. And I don't like people attacking others either. I don't follow the Rede to the letter, because if I did, I would never defend myself when being attacked. I embrace the consequences to my actions and I've realized that if I do wrong and I say 'so be it' to the consequences, they are usually not as bad as if I do something nasty and act as though I wasn't responsible for what I have done. But I only fight back if there is no other way. It is my last resort in any case. As for a quotation that I try to live by, here it is: "There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow men. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self." - Elijah Wood |
| Faith | Nov 18th. at 6:08:27 pm EST |
| Storm's Feather (Russellville, Arkansas) | Age: 16 - Email |
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What started my journey on my path was the need to know and understand what i didn't. Everything that i thought was true didn't seem to be, so i decided to search for answers on my own. Being raised an athiest-agnostic, i still have troubles completely believing in anything, so i live a philosophical pattern of belief most of the time. But, i still have that need to understand, and that's what motivates me to believe and live the way i do. "i know a little about a lot, and a lot about a little" Ben Franklin |
| My Motivation | Nov 18th. at 6:33:53 pm EST |
| Araban MoonPearl (Issaquah, Washington, USA) | Age: 20 - Email - Web |
|
Ever since I was a little boy I have felt more at home in nature and with her children than in man's domain. I preferred the company of my dogs over that of others. When I found the craft I felt I had arrived to myself. My motivation in the craft has always been an effort to bring myself closer into nature and to become one with the earth. To strive to unlock the mysteries of nature. |
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