Spiritual paths

It is as if there is a great forest, with many different paths through it.  Some paths are called druidry, some pantheism, some paganism, some Quakerism, some atheism, some humanism, some Catholicism, some Presbyterianism, some -- what's the -ism for Baptists? It's not Baptism, is it? --, some Buddhism, some Taoism, some Hinduism, etc.  Each of us has to find the path that is true for us.  Sometimes we will spend some time on one of these predetermined paths, and some time on a different one.  Sometimes we will forge our own paths.

For me, finding a path that is already formed helps me see things more clearly.  It is not that I must follow every step of that path exactly as the path was originally formed.  It's more like opening a window.  When I am not on a forged path, I have an idea of what I am looking for, but it is rather amorphous.  When I step onto a path that has been tread before, I can see more clearly the shape of the thing which I am seeking.  It also becomes clear to me which parts of this path are for me to tread on, and which parts of this forged path do not fit my own personal path.

I was drawn to paganism because I was seeking an earth-centered spirituality.  Paganism seemed to be in the vicinity of the path I was looking for, but it was not itself the path for me.  After wandering the forest in the vicinity of paganism, I came across first pantheism and then druidry.  Those are my paths.

The druid path is a wide one.  Not all parts are for me.  There are many different druid orders and groups.  Maybe I will walk a time with one or more of those orders or groups.  But they do not define me.  Each druid seeks his or her individual path.  Groups can help us to find our way, but they cannot entirely define our individual paths.  My commitment as a druid is not to meet the requirements of a particular group.  My commitment as a druid is to continually seek to learn and grow within myself, and to bring healing to the world -- healing to humans and healing to the environment.