Respect

It's not supposed to be about idolatry, it's supposed to be about respect, but people often confuse the two. I understand that's why the statues of saints in Catholic churches are placed on high pedestals. They used to be placed at floor level until some priest noticed that his parishioners were in the habit of touching them as they walked past. The purpose of those statues is not to serve as good luck charms, or even objects of worship, they are there to remind people of the sacrifices made by the saints which made possible the spreading of Christianity around the world...or something like that. So now the statues are placed out of reach, but still in clear view, where they can serve as sources of inspiration, which is all they were ever intended to be.

My grandson was about five years old when he taught me about a custom that he had picked up from his Native American friends. Whenever you take something from Nature, you should sprinkle a small amount of tobacco on the ground or water to thank the spirits. Serious believers still carry a pouch of tobacco for this purpose, but we didn't have one at the time, so I asked my grandson if the tobacco from one of my cigarettes would suffice, and if the spirits would mind that it was menthol. He explained that the spirits didn't really care about the tobacco, all they want is for us to respect them and be thankful for all the things they provide for us. The tobacco ritual is something that people adopted to help them remember this. My grandson died in 2005 at he age of 15, but I still sprinkle tobacco when I take something from Nature, or sometimes when I'm just thankful to be out there. I don't exactly believe in spirits, I mostly do it in remembrance of my grandson.