I've been thinking about the central theme of sacrifice in the celebration of Lughnassadh (Lammas).  This harvest celebration represents the Dark Goddess' sacrifice of the Corn God (or the God, manifested in the grain), to sustain our human lives. One form of energy gives itself up so that it can transform into something else, for the sake of others.  Life feeds on life. 

This time of year, as I reap the amazing harvest from our garden, my sense of conscious living is renewed. When the crop was picked from the vine, it's easier to remember we owe our daily lives to the plants and (for some) animals we consume, to open our conscioiusness to an enduring sense of gratitude.

So, while other religions may thank some notion of a divinity for the bounty, before each meal this week I will thank the animal or plant that has given its life to become a part of me.  

"All must end; this is the way,

What doth rise, but not decay?

Lugh has come, the Barleycorn,

We raise the scythe and now 'tis shorn!"

May you never hunger. May you never thirst.

Blessed Be