Hermes: Don’t Drink Bleach

So, you guys all know that the tastiest foods, the really, really decadent ones, tend to be basically horrible for you.

Ice cream, chips, fried oreos ( 😀 ), those really big juicy sausages with the sautéed onions and peppers that have been cooked in their own delicious juices, NACHOS. OH SWEET HOLY POWERS ABOVE, NACHOS. With ground beef, huge dollops of sour cream, melted cheese —

Ok, I’m done.

No, I’m not. I forgot stuffed-crusted pizza.

Ok, NOW I’m done.

Your body has been calibrated for food instability, and having to work for every calorie. Of course you *want* to eat lovely dollops of sugary frosting (and if you don’t, I’m not sure I can be friends with you), but if you do that all the time, your teeth and gut and pancreas will not thank you.

Even so, plenty of things that taste like crap are bad for you also. Rubbing alcohol, for example. Bug spray.

And there are plenty of healthy things which are damned tasty. Roast chicken, freshly baked whole grain bread, mashed cauliflower, apples, and many other things taste good, and are also good for you.

More so, what is healthy for one person might not actually be healthy for everyone. Spinach is healthy, unless you are allergic to it, or have already gotten too much iron.

You can’t just decide that something is good for you or bad for you based on how it tastes. You need to read the nutrition labels, and make informed decisions based on your own body, your caloric needs, multifarious allergies you might have, and so forth.

This is pretty obvious when we are talking about food and health, but it seems like you guys are a bit more confused when it comes to spirituality.

Just because it’s difficult doesn’t make it good for you. Some spiritual lessons are pleasant. In fact, you can have a healthy and productive spiritual life with whatever buzzword makes you feel like you are getting somewhere, all without some invisible being making your life worse. Just like you can learn math without someone rapping your knuckles with a ruler.

If you are doing nothing but recreating and seeking validation, however, that’s probably not so good for you. Also, I know submission to the divine can feel good, but I caution moderation. Remember that submission to divine will is what fundie Christians and Muslim extremist use as their excuse to harm other people without pricking their conscience. In the Pagan community, it’s been used as an excuse to bully people.

Spirituality is work. It is work that requires investigation, deep thought, and self-examination. Read your nutrition labels (by which I mean study up on your religion’s history, community and theology). Imbibe responsibly (of both alcohol and divine influxes). Do what you need to to take care of your soul. Ground regularly. Get centered and stay there most of the time. Have a plan. Set down boundaries. Don’t do work for beings who don’t respect those boundaries.

Don’t take initiations with people whose spirituality has fucking wrecked them. Don’t go and study how to do spirituality from people whose spirituality has fucking wrecked them. Also, don’t drink bleach.

We want and need you to be at least as successful and healthy as you would have been without us. We want you to be able to tackle all the real world problems that polytheisms face. Still more challenging struggles lie ahead, for all of us.

Please, take care of yourselves.

XOXOXOXO

Hermes