What do you desire?

I may not be very happy with Facebook, but sometimes, It's an excellent medium to get smacked upside the head with something you've been denying yourself for far too long. If you haven't clicked the video to play yet, please, do it now and stop reading for a moment. Just watch, listen--truly listen--and dig down to into yourself to see if the message applies to you. I'll wait.

Society can be a horrible thing. It's given us a great many things--shelter, safety, supermarkets--but it has also taken a lot away from us: community, freedom, and the right to choose outside of pre-designed boxes, for example. Wether you're a man or woman, you should want an office job these days, with good pay, so you can buy a nice house. You should want to work nine to five, take an half an hour lunch break with your colleagues and when you get home, you should want to watch T.V.. Within Paganism, this doesn't necessarily hold true, but it does in most western countries in general.

I have always, proudly, called myself a feminist. I will fight for women's rights, I will kick glass ceilings until something--either the glass or my toes--gives, I will stand up for equality between the sexes. I will do a lot to ensure equal treatment of men and women. Yet, I am also a homemaker. I love to take care of my girlfriend--who, in Hellenistic terms, is totally my wife--I happily clean, cook, make our house a comfortable place to live in and my girlfriend's life as comfortable as possible.

I understand many feminists--as well as mainstream society--would balk at this information, and even more so when they hear I would happily submit myself to the gender roles of ancient Hellas, where I--as a woman--would not have been allowed to leave the house save for religious occasions, and very rare shopping sprees. It seems to go against the modern notion of feminism, yet, I have always seen feminism as the fight for equal treatment and free choice of all genders. It also goes against modern society, where being a mother or homemaker has somehow become less worthy.

This video made me think hard about what I want in life. If money was not an issue, this is what I would do for the rest of my days: I would write, be a homemaker, build a temple to the Theoi, build a small library on the same ground, and teach seekers about Hellenismos. I'd organize reading classes on the classics, the Theoi, and anything else anyone might be interested in. I would celebrate the festivals within the temple walls and at the altar outside of it. I'd be a priestess to whomever comes looking for one. I'd spend my days taking care of my wife, the temple, the Theoi and--perhaps--a child. Since I was fourteen years old, this vision of the future has changed very little. 

Unfortunately, money is an issue. My girlfriend and I do want a nice, cozy, home, so we need to pay for that in some way. I'm not selfish--or brave--enough to ask her to take that on alone. The best I am hoping for right now is a part-time job which pays decently and allows me to see the sun rise and go down every day. I loath office work, especially in winter. Yet, to make some extra money, I will be adding three more days of work to my three or four day work weeks this December and January. This means six or seven day work weeks. The thought alone is enough to make me cry. Yet, such is modern life. It has its perks, and its failures. I remain hopeful for the future, and remember the temple to the Theoi, my part-time job where I can see the sun rise and go down every day, and my cozy home which I will keep for my wife and child.