Not Enough Indians

How can we retain our individual identities while compromising towards the goal of organization? For lack of another model for comparison I will use my own group as an example.

We all have a singular identity simply by being members of the same group. The group has certain things that make it cohesive and whole. There are certain aspects that we must all conform to. We share a belief in the same deity concepts and assign the Goddess as our primary deity. We identify with a singular culture and utilize the myths and traditions of this culture in our workings.

That being said each individual in the group is encouraged to explore their own spiritual identity in a solitary form. In fact, this is an integral part of our training process. It is mandatory for a pending initiate to complete a "term paper" on their personal path. It may mirror the path of the entire group, but they still have to do it. It is not only a way for the group to learn about other forms of spirituality, but it fills a need for the individual to remain individual. The pending initiate is then asked to present their path to the entire group, explaining the details and answering any questions. It's a wonderful forum for conversation and learning.

So, I am left wondering why this can't work on a larger scale.

I'm a mother. Does that mean I have to be like every other mother? I'm an artist. Does that mean I have to be like every other artist? I'm a Pagan. Does that mean I have to be like every other Pagan?

There are a million and one ways to define someone, yet there are a million and one ways to define those definitions even further. I don't think the box people are trying to fit themselves into has to be so small. You can be part of a whole and still be a unique individual.

Maybe the key word here is compromise. Paganism seems to have the "too many chiefs" syndrome. Everyone wants to be the director in a play without any actors or stage crew.

I know I'm beating this topic to death. I will try to focus on something else in my next post.