In many traditions of Wicca and Paganism, there is a great
deal of focus on the Goddess. Sometimes,
there's so much attention to the feminine that the masculine aspects get
overlooked. By welcoming the God of your
tradition, you can honor the men who have impacted your life - whether they
raised you, loved you or are being brought up by you. Odin is the chief divinity of the Germanic
pantheon. He was called the Alfadir
(All-father), for he is the creator of the Germanic Peoples and the father of
many important, powerful Gods and human heroes.
On this day
we remind ourselves of the virtue of Honor. The basic meaning of Honor is respect. A concept entailing a perceived quality of
worthiness and respectability. Synonyms: dignity, faith, trust, reputation
The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world
is to be in reality what we would appear to be; all human virtues increase and
strengthen themselves by the practice and experience of them. - Socrates
The pig is
a symbol meaning honor and generosity. Honor
is a concept that seems to be native to most people. But what is it? We could define honor as being that which a
person has when he is worth respect. It
is not having pride, but rather having respect and that respect being worth having.
Most of us
live the majority of our lives for other people - trying to do what they want
us to do, aiming to meet their expectations, and hoping to be seen as we’d like
them to see us. Trying to sway
perception is exhausting and oftentimes fruitless because we can never dictate
what other people think. We don’t get to
control our reputation; we only get to shape our character.
Real honor assumes that the
actions of the person honored are worth of respect and imitation. The justification for the acclaim is based on
something objective. It is the response
one should have to the virtuous person. Not
to honor such a person would be wrong.
We should
also honor those who serve the community - teachers, leaders, coaches, pastors,
firemen, and soldiers. We should not
honor those who misuse their positions of authority since they abuse the trust
of those they should be serving. We
should honor accomplishments, whether academic, athletic, or artistic, for they
are the results of dedication. Ask
yourself, “Is this person worthy of
respect?”
To live
with honor means to strive to do your best in all aspects of your life. It means living with courage, integrity,
purpose, and dignity. Above all, to live
with honor means pursue excellence in all that you do, and ultimately, to make
the most of your life and time in this world.
You
practice honor by respecting others' rights and beliefs and by keeping your
word. You also practice honor by making
others respect your rights and keep their word to you. Honor means treating other people the way you
want to be treated and also getting in their faces when they don't treat you or
your friends with respect.
Most
important of all, practicing honor means keeping your promises. Sometimes that means that you have to think
before you make a promise. If you're not
sure you can do something you are asked to do, it's okay to say you'll try, but
aren't sure you can deliver. It's not
okay to give your word and then not even try to do what you promised.
Glad Yuletide to Everyone. Hail!
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