Deaf Pagan Crossroads

Sabrina over at Pagan Dawn recently chose to bestow Deaf Pagan Crossroads with the following award:

Thank you, Sabrina. I’m both honored and humbled.

Pagan Dawn is an infant in the blogosphere, begun by a woman who readily confesses to being new both to blogging and to Pagan Spirituality. I enjoy reading it, if for no other reason than that it gives me a fresh new perspective of my Path from the eyes of someone who is just beginning the journey. Sabrina’s posts are well-written, and convey a thoughtful and intelligent outlook on what it means to begin listening to the Goddess. I recommend her blog, and wish her all the best as she continues exploring her spirituality and writing about it.

Now according to the rules, I’m to pass this award along to other blogs/vlogs which I enjoy and consider worthy of receiving such an award. Basically the rules are:

1. The winner can put the logo on their blog
2. Link the person you received the award from
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4. Put links of those blogs on yours
5. Leave a message on the blogs nominated

Number 1 and 2 are completed, as you will note above. So now it’s time for number 3… nominating at least 7 other blogs.

Hmmmm… this could get a little tricky.

I have to be honest here, folks. I haven’t been keeping up with the blogosphere – Pagan, Deaf, or otherwise – like I used to, or like I should. I haven’t been visiting other blogs, reading posts, or leaving comments.

Shame on me.

Yes, I feel guilty. It’s bad enough that I’m neglecting my own blog these days, but I’m also neglecting to keep in touch with my blogging friends, and I feel bad about that. I’m sorry… I really am!

I don’t know that I can offer up any really great explanations for my demise in blogging presence, except to say that nowadays I really don’t have much time and energy. When I began Deaf Pagan Crossroads, I was “between jobs” with much more time on my hands, a lot of pent-up energy, and a need to find an outlet for that energy, creativity, etc. etc.

Nowadays, it seems that while the desire is there, the motivation is weak. I might come up with a good idea, but turning it into an actual blog post becomes a challenge. I might start a draft, but it never gets completed.

To begin with, finding the time and energy is problematic. I work an average of 50+ hours at my job as a Supported Living Assistant, and since I work the overnight shift I’m usually in bed during the day. Sometimes I have to work a double shift (like I did last weekend), which means I could be on the job for a straight 16 – 18 hours without a break. Small wonder that I went to bed at 5:00 last night, and didn’t wake up til 8:00 this morning.

But I digress. I guess what I am trying to say is that while I may not be as active as I used to be, and I may not be as present in the blogosphere as I used to be, I’m still hanging in there and I still do think fondly of the friends I have made as a blogger, and promise to try and stop by your sites a little more frequently and drop a line now and then.

And I will try to continue to live up to this wonderful award that I have been given. Thank you, Sabrina.

Now to get back to that Number 3 on the list…

A little over a year ago I was tagged with the “Thinking Blogger” award, and much like this one, I had to pass it on… which I did in a postin which I honored four blogs which I felt were worthy of such.

Those four blogs were

1. DeafDC.com

2. The Wild Hunt

3. Mr Sandman’s Sandbox

4. A Pagan Sojourn (has since become an invitation-only blog)

If you have yet to check out any of these blogs, I encourage you to do so.

Some of the blogs I would like to now nominate for the “I (heart) Your Blog” award will be repeats off this list, others will be new. I’ve tried to go for a variety of different blogs reflecting my many different interests. In any case, here they are, in no particular order:

Living La Vida Alpo – I love Queen Alpo. She can sometimes be irreverent, sometimes serious, often funny as hell, but always thought-provoking. I even have one of my favorite swear words (which is a heck of a lot worse than her “shishkedarn”) mentioned in her language guide.

Bountiful Healing – I haven’t been over to Robin’s blog for awhile. Bad Osh! Bad! But in glancing over there this morning, I see that she’s already received this award in the last month or so. She’s chosen to pass it on to everyone on her blogroll, and since Deaf Pagan Crossroads is listed there, I guess that means I’ve won this award twice in the past month. Wow… you really do like me! But no matter, I’m still gonna mention Robin and her blog here, cuz it’s one that I do love and recommend. Robin is an extraordinary photographer (some of her photos have made their way into my posts), and she also has this uncanny knack for putting together just the right picture with just the right quotation (where does she find all these quotes, anyway???)

QuinnCreative – Much like the Queen (see above), Quinn can also be irreverent, serious, funny, and thought-provoking. She’s a talented writer and certified creativity coach who, much like “Seinfeld,” can create a blog about nothing. Who else do you know who can write about light bulbs, litter boxes, perfume, determination, and frying eggs all in the same week?

Deaf Progressivism – If you are looking for a blog that presents a clear, intelligent, thought-provoking presentation of Deafhood from the Deaf perspective, you can’t get much better than Barb DiGi’s blog. Barb primarily uses vlogs in American Sign Language to share her thoughts, but she also includes an English transcript with most of her vlogs (her most recent one featuring her daughter Brianna doesn’t have a transcript, but you will find them with many of her past posts.) Naturally she is quite popular in the Deaf Blogosphere, but I would encourage all of my readers to go take a look at what she has to say… I think Barb really gets to the heart of the matter in expressing what the Deaf Community thinks and feels.

Bringing Up Salamanders – This is an excellent example of how blogging can break down international barriers and bring people from all over the world together. Nydia, the creator of this blog, is a Wiccan mom raising her little witchling in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She shares heart-warming stories that usually focus around her five year old son, Lucas. For those of you who are bringing up your own little salamanders and wanting tips on how to teach them about the Pagan Path, I highly recommend this blog. One thing that is interesting is that since Nydia lives in the southern hemisphere, the Sabbats in Rio are reversed… we will soon be celebrating Mabon – the Fall Equinox; while Lucas and his mom are looking forward to Ostara – the Spring Equinox.

Mr. Sandman’s Sandbox – Yup, Sandman… you’re on this list. I’m still waiting for you to bring me a dream, but in the meantime I do love your blog. Although he’s a fellow member of the Deaf Community and does occasionally focus on deaf issues on his blog, Mr. Sandman is just as apt to discuss Iraq, joysticks, driving, blogging, movies, or Blondie Boopadoop. And do a darn good job writing about it.

Blogickal – Just as there are a lot of great Deaf Blogs out there too numerous to mention, there are a lot of great Pagan Blogs also. Maybe some day I will do a post on ’em. In the meantime, I’ve nominated Blogickal for a heart (although I see that Angela-Louise also has already received this award). It’s well-written, but what I also like about it is that it doesn’t attempt to stick solely to Pagan topics… Angela-Louise even admits that lately she’s been a bit preoccupied with her new job, relationships, politics, etc. But that’s the whole point… we Pagans are human beings just like everyone else, and our lives don’t always revolve around drawing down the moon or perfecting that spell or stirring the cauldron. We work. We vote. We live, we love, we laugh. And sometimes we write about it on our blogs.

So there you have it, folks. My (partial) list of blogs I enjoy. I know I don’t say it often enough, I know I don’t visit often enough, I know I don’t comment often enough.

But I do heart your blogs.

Really.

~ Ocean