Crescent Shadows On-Line Newsletter of the Hudson Valley Pagan Network, Inc.

After the attacks of September 11, 2001 many people cannot or perhaps will not accept that our government cannot protect us. To do so requires each person to admit that he or she is not totally safe. Many people in this country became emotionally devastated after the attacks. For the first time in their lives they were forced to realize that there were bad people in the world. These bad people live among us and they want to hurt us. Most of the warrior types I've spoken to since September were not emotionally shattered like these folks. They care about what happened and are sorry for the loss of innocent life but they have hardened their resolve to be even better prepared for the unexpected at anytime can be the one factor that saves their lives and/or the live of others.

The people aboard the Pennsylvania flight showed us that self-reliance is not dead in the United States. These people gambled with their lives and lost...or did they? Probably, though we'll never know for sure, those brave warriors saved the White House and many lives on the ground. As warriors we understand that when they attacked the hijackers they considered it their basic duty to try. It was an act of self-reliance as well as self-preservation. It ended up an act of self-sacrifice. A warrior knows about personal sacrifice during times of hardship. When things can't seem to get any worse and do, we push the envelope.

It's difficult to teach an old dog new tricks so why not start with our kids. Parents today have a difficult job in teaching our children self-reliance. I'm not saying that each of should have a personal bomb shelter and a five-year cache of food and water. (Well it's not a bad idea.) What I'm suggesting is that we instill in our kids the same beliefs and warrior spirit that the heroes of the Pennsylvania flight used in an attempt to save themselves and others on the ground. I'm suggesting that we teach them self-reliance.

Our children have been raised in front of televisions and computers with parents catering to them. They never get a chance to learn that sometimes things are physically difficult and emotionally taxing. Sometimes these things are rewards in and of themselves as they teach a sense of accomplishment. Some methods of teaching these lessons could be a camping weekend in inclement weather (see Tamie C. or Chris D. about this, we always have inclement weather when we camp), an extra long hike or bike ride, one that exceeds their limits a little at a time. In a way, forcing them to reach inside for untapped inner reserves. After the task is complete they will see that they now have new limits to test. In this way they continue to improve their self-reliance and realize that nothing is impossible, just challenging. These lessons will teach our children that their impossible dreams aren't impossible , they just might take a little extra effort to attain. In the new world in which we now live, after September 11, 2001, every one of us needs to be as self reliant as possible. Teaching our children to push their limits and pushing our own as well will go a long way in teaching the basics of self-reliance.

-Shadowbird

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Last Updated: September 24, 2002
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