What does it mean to be Pagan?

The Lineage of an American

Who am I?
I am who I am,
The product of many lifetimes.
I am an American,
A Hoosier by birth, but what is that?
I am Cherokee, proud and independent
None shall enslave me.
I am a Scott, strong and hardy,
None shall defeat me.
I am Polish, smart and hardworking,
None shall call me inferior.
In my spirit lies the sum of all these lives.
I am a part of them, and they of me.
I am a wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, grandmother and friend.
What more could I ask for?
I am who I am,
And I am whole.

Okay, this is where I will go off on a rant, so some may just want to leave and not read further... at least till I get into a better mood. Most would say that to be a pagan means that you worship the "devil". Well, I don't happen to follow the pantheon that believes in that entity, so no, I do not do that. In the ancient Greek and Roman terms, it is roughly meaning "hick" or "redneck" in the modern vernacular. My definition has always been thought of as anything that is non-Christian. That could encompass anything from Judaism and Islam to the secular. I suppose the definition is and can be wide open. So, in what category would you put yourself? Hard to say, and I really hate having to define myself because I like to think that I am more than a cookie cutter replica of anything. I have been constantly changing and evolving, as I am sure the rest of the life forms that I share this planet with and the planet itself has, since I was first catapulted into existence.

This all being said, how would we define something as being pagan? Is it when there is some dark references to something mysterious? References to great evil or great power? How to become so powerful as to run roughshod over everyone and everything and bend it/them to your will? Is it references to various gods and ideas of Deity? Or can it just be something that is not religious in nature? Something not bragging how wonderful life is and how great some obscure parent figure is?

This is the eternal question in my mind... why are my ideas so much less valid than others? Why am I relegated to the place of student? The answer may be clear as mud, or as the summer sky, but there are days when I just can't put aside my pessimistic bent and say that it is just people being people. There is no way that I have power over anyone else, and I really don't want to, anyway.

I only have power over myself, my actions, my feelings, and my behavior. Who I am is not, and will not, be influenced by anything other than my own decisions. This is why I wrote the previous post... it is who I am. I am happy with who I am. No matter what anyone thinks I should be. I am me, and I am whole.