Welcome
Welcome to Children of Eir. The reason for this site is to bring together those individuals who are Disabled Folk or who are support persons for Disabled Folk. To me this does not specify that you must follow a Heathen or Asatru path. There are many who practice a Northern Traditional Path or even other paths who will find this site and be able to make use of it. The focus of this site is primarily on the Deities of the Northern Path, but many of the links here will be universal as to getting aid from organizations for the Disabled. The articles here will be written from my perspective which I admit is the perspective of a Northern Practitioner and you will either agree or disagree with them. I can do nothing about that. When I first started to conceptualize this site, I saw myself as reaching out to a very small minority, as time has gone on, however, my perspective has changed at times radically.. I have come to realize a few things; first of all, it's not about what you call yourself, Heathen, Northern Traditionalist, Pagan, whatever...we are growing as the community grows. The longer folks practice, the more problems we garner with age, arthritis, memory issues, balance issues, strokes and these are just a few. There are also those of us who do military service and come back permanently affected by it. We need to look at caring for our own. This does not even begin to touch those of us who have been disabled all of our lives, whether in an overt manner that people recognize upon seeing us, or in the more invisible ways such as with mental disorders,fibromyalgia, seizure disorders or many other problems besides. All of us have a right to be part of the practicing Community. To attend Moots Events,Conventions or any other social situation, to be part of Kindreds, Hearths, or other organizations and to be able to blot, feign or sumble with honor, with a consciousness that some conscious level of consideration has been taken to our comfort, to facilitate our ability to be part of what is occuring and not on the sidelines.
I hope that through this site, I will be able to educate folk as to how to find ways to communicate their needs within Conscious Community, as well as resources to turn to. I also hope that through writing articles about how I do things that I will be able to give people a glance into ways of honoring the Deities without feeling one must resort to the use of alcoholic beverages for blot, sumble or feigning. Though many may have been taught that these are the only acceptable beverages for such I have not found it to be so. I have taken a lot of time to do experimentation and some research, in part through talking to other Disabled Folk and some historical as well. I spent some time establishing a Steward for the Disabled within The Troth, though I have since resigned the position. I feel that I may actually serve all disabled folk better if I do not limit myself to one organization. I am encouraged that they established a position as such and I think that a good trend within Heathenry is being established. One thing I think is important for all those who are either disabled themselves or who are the support persons of the disabled is that you do not allow yourself to become so isolated that you cut yourself off from the Deities within your faith. As has been pointed out to me more than once most of our Gods have some kind of 'defect' and still we worship them(I'll discuss this in articles of faith).
There are those within Heathenry who have a negative attitude toward those who are recieving any form of financial aid. Who will tell you that in former times 'you would not have survived' that you are a 'bottom feeder'. The fact is, that the Eddas tell us otherswise. They tell us that there was a place for everyone, no matter what, there was always something that each individual was capable of contributing to the community. And this is something that today we can embody even more. As individuals who may be on SSI or SSDI we have time to do research, to learn the lore, to write the articles or the books. To found a Rune Study Group, a Lore Study Group or a Craft Group of any kind might help others learn skills they otherwise would not have and help you to find within yourself a sense of joy and purpose rather than simply to hide away. If you wanted, you might even find it witihin you to found a Kindred. In this manner you could bring to you, those who would be inclusive of your disablities(and others too)rather than exclusive.
If this site does no more than get you to think outside of yourself, to expand from where you started then I feel I will have accomplished something. If it gets you to actually go somewhere, to take a chance you would not have taken, then I will be extremely pleased to know that I have done what I had hoped. To have reached out and to have convinced you too, to reach out. Know always that we have something to contribute no matter what it be.
May the halt ride a horse, and the handles be herdsmen,
the deaf man doughtilty fight,
a blind man is better than a burned one, ay:
of what gain is a good man dead?
The Saying Of Har(translated by Lee M. Hollander)
