Mark Green's Atheopaganism Blog

It’s a natural impulse: what, right now, is the damned point?*

What’s the point of spirituality, of religion? What’s the point of personal rituals and seasonal celebrations, of rites of passage?

With things as they are, why bother with things like mythopoetic expression?

And I am here to tell you that at such times, it’s more important than ever to conduct our rites and to build community around our shared values.

Here’s why.

First of all, it is the #1 assignment for those of us who embrace values like the Atheopagan Principles that we persist. Even the most evil regimes have not lasted forever. We have to carry the torch for when those values can thrive again. And our spiritual practices feed us: they help us to survive, to keep our heads up, to remember what is important and the long view.

Secondly, people need us. If you’re privileged enough not to be in the direct line of fire, think about the people who are: immigrants, LGBTQ+ folks, people of color, indigenous people, federal workers in the DEI, climate resilience or foreign relations spaces. Those people are going to need us to stand up for them. They expect and require that we resist. We must welcome them into our communities and provide what support and shelter we can through this long, dark storm.

Third, and finally: It’s on us to turn this around. The arc of history doesn’t naturally bend towards more justice, kindness and reason: it gets better when people with better values fight for them. It’s on us to communicate, to organize, to speak out, to do All. The. Things. that will topple the current madness and bring a better era. PARTICULARLY those of us who are privileged, who have the cover of being white and/or male and/or straight/cis: we’re the ones the regime isn’t directly gunning for, so we need to stand up for those it is targeting.

It’s hard to feel motivated when times are bleak, when every day’s news bring a new outrage. It’s easy to fall into Dusty Altar Syndrome, to just skip the observances even though we know they feel good and help us to hold on and persist. If that happens to you, don’t beat yourself up about it: just start again. Start small, if you must, but do something.

Clean that Focus. Say a brief gratitude over a meal.

Something.

In my professional life, I’m immersed in the daily politics of trying to undermine Trump’s disastrous policies on the environment. And as a leader, a part of what I need to do is to remain positive, to set an example for my colleagues and allies that we are NOT beaten down, NOT without hope.

I’ve said it before, but hope is a weapon. Hope gets people through things they never thought they could. Hope paints the picture of a better world, worthy of pursuit.

This is a bad time in history but history isn’t over. So conduct your practice, be of stout heart, and help where you can. It may not seem like much, but if we’re all doing it, it adds up.

I see you, Atheopagan. I see your concern and caring. They count.

* I write this as a citizen and resident of the United States, but the world as a whole is in sad shape right now, with right-wing movements on the rise and crises steadily growing. It really applies to us all.