A friend said to me ‘most people are unhappy with their life. They are in a situation that isn
A friend said to me ‘most people are unhappy with their life. They are in a situation that isn’t what they hoped for, but they don’t see a way out. And they don’t see examples of freedom.’ . I can’t stop thinking about that. We need models. We need examples of a way out. I remember being in my mid twenties, and completely immersed in Christian culture. I knew I was gay, and I knew I loved God, and I didn’t have examples in my life of people doing both with a wholeness that inspired me. I wanted to be good and do right, and loving who I want to love felt selfish. In truth, it just felt scary. I didn’t want to lose my whole world in search of a kiss. . I was talking to a mentor one day and said 'I feel like if you could be gay, and love God, I would see examples… maybe they exist, but because I don’t know them, it seems impossible.’ He paused for a minute, weighing his words, and replied, 'sometimes you are alive in a moment in history, and the example may have to be you. Look at your life, your gifts and your disposition, you seem like you have what it takes to walk into unknown land.’ Those words changed my life. I was waiting for examples, waiting for permission. He taught me that sometimes you have to be the thing you wish you could see. . I think about this in all manners of living. Of the job you want. Of the community you need. Of the project you fear to start. We are waiting for permission, for examples. But what if you are the example you need? . My views on God and love and how to feel safe in this world have expanded exponentially. For me, I kept opening doors, with shaking hands and fists up, and the more I did, and found smiling faces behind the door, the safer I feel in the endless halls of my forward moving life. And the wildest thing is, when you think no one is modeling what you need… and you dare to step into that for yourself, you find the room crowded with comrades, with bright eyes and high fives and 'you too?!’ And the feeling of God saying 'hah, my love, you thought I was so small.’ The best feeling in the world. #myfirstlove #owls #letowlsmarry -- source link
#myfirstlove#letowlsmarry