Today’s random reading selection was from Dion Fortune’s Estoteric Orders and their Work and the Training and Work of an Initiate.
In it one phrase caught hold of me, hard:
“with justice to himself”
The sentence it was from, for context, was “Upon this plane…man must function as a master; he cannot, with justice to himself, meet its entities upon equal terms.”
With justice to himself.
These days we are pretty good about self-entitlement and have something of a handle on justice for others (and more prevalent among women is the sublimation of self to others, but that’s a blog for another day). But justice for ourselves? Doing ourselves justice?
As I type this my thoughts want to slide over into the “what we’re owed” concept. Again, what we are entitled to. And kiddies (I’m one too, btw) I can tell you that we’re entitled to jack shit. No guarantees in life. No promises. Nothing that we’re intrinsically, cosmically owed. Many things that we may end up owed amongst our own community and culture, but there is no cosmic justice saying that I’m entitled to be set for life.
The only cosmic entitlement once we’re born is to have some fleeting time in life, however long or short that might be.
I think it is very easy for us to feel entitled for ourselves. Just see my rant on the how Christmas has turned into the season of buying things for ourselves.
But this is not what Dion Fortune was talking about. It wasn’t about being owed, it’s about owing ourselves.
What we really need is to ACT with justice to ourselves, our full Selves. This is not about a liscence to shop. This is about doing right by ourSelves.
What actions do we owe our Selves? Which behaviours are truly in service to our Selves? And which are convenient, easy or unconsciously distracting?
I had a lovely day out at Vancouver Pagan Pride Day today and so while I would like to ramble more on this, the sun (and sunburns, oops!) are getting to me. Hopefully what I have gotten down makes sense to more than just me.
Sometimes I feel alone on my own Wonderland Island in the Sea of Communal Insanity.
Do your Self and your Life justice today and I’ll try and do the same. Deal?
~Abysmal Witch
Deal!