Motivational Monday #3
This is Quincy Jones speaking on Tupacs death. I read this in Tupacs biography and it really stuck with me because I am always judging myself on who I am today and where I thought I would be at age twenty-three. I find I beat myself up if I am not moving forwards towards my goals or how I am not where I want to be. It really didn’t sit well with me for days and then it hit me. We all cannot be Tupacs. These individuals were just normal people trying to live their dream. It took dedication and perseverance to get to be the idols that they are today. So if you are not on the route that you want to be on or not as far along as you thought you’d be. Don’t worry. There is still a lot of life to live and many moons to come. And with each day the opportunity to take a step is presented to you. The choice, to take it or not, is yours.
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I love this picture. It’s from a blog post called, “I Hugged a Man in His Underwear. And I Am Proud.” The author is a Christian man named Nathan Albert. He and a group of other Christ-followers from the Marin Foundation went to Chicago’s Gay Pride Parade with signs that said things like, “I’m sorry that Christians judge you,” and “I’m sorry for the way churches have treated you,” and “I used to be a Bible-banging homophobe. Sorry.” He received a powerful, sincere, sometimes tearful response. He said he thinks Jesus would have hugged them, too. I think he’s right.
I feel very strongly about this topic, about the LGBT community. I want so badly for there to be better dialogue between the gay community and the Christian community at large, and I hate so much that so many LGBT people have been hurt by the fear, ignorance, and carelessness many in the church have shown. I know I’ve been an idiot quite a few times. I’m writing this post for a different reason, however: the fact that although I was deeply moved by the picture and wanted to share it, my hand hesitated over my keyboard.
See, I wasn’t sure that a lot of my gay friends would really like it. Some of them would probably say that they just want to be left alone, that they’re sick of even reading a word that hints at organized religion, with a special repulsion stored up just for Christianity. They don’t want reconciliation with Christians, they kinda wish that Christianity just didn’t exist at all. Many are disgusted, angry, and probably a little bit exhausted. They are not crazy for feeling that way, either. A “relationship with God?” Are you serious? 1. You sound delusional. 2. I’ve had enough of a relationship with people wearing Team Jesus t-shirts and social institutions supposedly made in His image and by His will to last me a lifetime, thank you. 3. All of the GOP candidates have said God told them to run for president. So…there’s that. 4. If I have to hear anything about this one more time from one more person with a transparent agenda, I’m going to vomit.
Did I get that about right? My position on the matter is that a bunch of that is about some serious, totally legit hurt. But that’s another blog entry for another time.
Most of my beloved gay buddies will not struggle with bile at the sight of that picture. The truth is that they’re just like anyone else, and they have the same fundamental cravings that anyone else has. They want to be accepted…I mean FULLY accepted. They want to be respected, and cherished, and known, and loved. They don’t want to be objects of veiled discomfort. Friends of mine who are friends of Dorothy, feel free to correct me.
Nathan said it well when he wrote, “But acceptance isn’t enough. Reconciliation is. [W]hen there isn’t reconciliation, there isn’t full acceptance. Reconciliation is more painful; it’s more difficult. [It forces us] to remember wrongs…but is more powerful because it means two parties who…hate one another come together for the good of one another.” It’s messy, but it’s real. To me, it’s the only process in situations like these that is actually worth it. While no omnipotent antidote exists for social maladies of hurt and wrong, I believe things like this picture at least face that direction. I want my whole life to be a part of renewal, life, and joy like that. For that reason, I should shake my head at my hesitation, grin, and press submit anyway. Some of my gay friends are angry, and for very good reason…but I allowed that to make me afraid, and there is nothing good that comes from being afraid to look for real healing. There is nothing good that comes from being afraid to learn how to love someone better.
For now, I can only control what’s inside my head/heart and how I express it. I hope I love people in my life well, and that they feel it deeply. I hope they understand that in my mind they are human beings first, not just placemarkers for sexual identity. I hope I come with open hands and an open mind, willing to learn from them. And regardless of what they believe about the existence of God, I hope that something in my life shows them that if there is a one, surely He loves them even more than I do.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyhaapNF7V1qbp4nmo1_1280.jpg)
I love this picture. It’s from a blog post called, “I Hugged a Man in His Underwear. And I Am Proud.” The author is a Christian man named Nathan Albert. He and a group of other Christ-followers from the Marin Foundation went to Chicago’s Gay Pride Parade with signs that said things like, “I’m sorry that Christians judge you,” and “I’m sorry for the way churches have treated you,” and “I used to be a Bible-banging homophobe. Sorry.” He received a powerful, sincere, sometimes tearful response. He said he thinks Jesus would have hugged them, too. I think he’s right.
I feel very strongly about this topic, about the LGBT community. I want so badly for there to be better dialogue between the gay community and the Christian community at large, and I hate so much that so many LGBT people have been hurt by the fear, ignorance, and carelessness many in the church have shown. I know I’ve been an idiot quite a few times. I’m writing this post for a different reason, however: the fact that although I was deeply moved by the picture and wanted to share it, my hand hesitated over my keyboard.
See, I wasn’t sure that a lot of my gay friends would really like it. Some of them would probably say that they just want to be left alone, that they’re sick of even reading a word that hints at organized religion, with a special repulsion stored up just for Christianity. They don’t want reconciliation with Christians, they kinda wish that Christianity just didn’t exist at all. Many are disgusted, angry, and probably a little bit exhausted. They are not crazy for feeling that way, either. A “relationship with God?” Are you serious? 1. You sound delusional. 2. I’ve had enough of a relationship with people wearing Team Jesus t-shirts and social institutions supposedly made in His image and by His will to last me a lifetime, thank you. 3. All of the GOP candidates have said God told them to run for president. So…there’s that. 4. If I have to hear anything about this one more time from one more person with a transparent agenda, I’m going to vomit.
Did I get that about right? My position on the matter is that a bunch of that is about some serious, totally legit hurt. But that’s another blog entry for another time.
Most of my beloved gay buddies will not struggle with bile at the sight of that picture. The truth is that they’re just like anyone else, and they have the same fundamental cravings that anyone else has. They want to be accepted…I mean FULLY accepted. They want to be respected, and cherished, and known, and loved. They don’t want to be objects of veiled discomfort. Friends of mine who are friends of Dorothy, feel free to correct me.
Nathan said it well when he wrote, “But acceptance isn’t enough. Reconciliation is. [W]hen there isn’t reconciliation, there isn’t full acceptance. Reconciliation is more painful; it’s more difficult. [It forces us] to remember wrongs…but is more powerful because it means two parties who…hate one another come together for the good of one another.” It’s messy, but it’s real. To me, it’s the only process in situations like these that is actually worth it. While no omnipotent antidote exists for social maladies of hurt and wrong, I believe things like this picture at least face that direction. I want my whole life to be a part of renewal, life, and joy like that. For that reason, I should shake my head at my hesitation, grin, and press submit anyway. Some of my gay friends are angry, and for very good reason…but I allowed that to make me afraid, and there is nothing good that comes from being afraid to look for real healing. There is nothing good that comes from being afraid to learn how to love someone better.
For now, I can only control what’s inside my head/heart and how I express it. I hope I love people in my life well, and that they feel it deeply. I hope they understand that in my mind they are human beings first, not just placemarkers for sexual identity. I hope I come with open hands and an open mind, willing to learn from them. And regardless of what they believe about the existence of God, I hope that something in my life shows them that if there is a one, surely He loves them even more than I do.
Food For Thought Friday
For the past year I have been scheming a way of promoting a lifestyle that inspires positive living. I have been striving to narrow it down to a simple formula that people could follow. I’ve came to the conclusion that there is no such formula. I just keep adding different ideas to this enormous stack of philosophies that emulate what I am trying to achieve. With that being said I decided to present you with two philosophies that I stumbled upon from the Hellenistic period which followed Aristotle’s death in 322 b.c. In my readings there were two groups that intrigued me. The first a movement was called Cynicism. Immediately I was turned off by the word because the word cynic popped in my head followed by images of a negative jackass that sees nothing but the worst. ‘Quite the opposite of what I’m trying to promote’. But as I read further it appears that the philosophy of the cynics was to live a life of poverty and give up possessions. They went so far as to live outside in a tub. Cynic in Greek means doglike so you can see the connection. These ideals intrigued me because of how much emphasis there is on materialism in this current day. If we lived like this there would be no materialism what so ever. Furthermore we would have no houses so stresses that turn our hair grey each time rent came around would disappear. But I don’t think I can convince my peers to throw away the keys to their cars, toss their Jordan’s or throw away that Burberry watch they got for Christmas which brings me to the second group; the Epicureans. The epicureans took a slightly different approach. They believed that a virtuous life was a life of pleasure. And as I read that a tune popped in my head “I ball so hard this shit cray” with lines like “Got a broke clock Rolexes that don’t tick tock” or “Gold bottles, scold models, spillin’ Aces on my sick J’s”. It seems as if the Epicureans aren’t a thing of the past. It sounds like we all are Epicureans. But as I read on it turns out they have nothing in common with the materialistic consumer driven mass of ass tards that are us today. Their definition of pleasure is simply the absence of pain. In other words you don’t need a downy mattress with Burberry sheets to feel pleasure. You just need to stop lying on a bed of nails. Genius! If we all took on these ideals our desires would be a lot closer to our needs. For instance we want the iPod Nano, we want that dope Michael Koors watch and we want an Audi TT but none of these things we need. I think the Epicureans were on to something great. We don’t need all of this shit to be happy. We don’t need the newest piece of technology that will be outdated next month. We don’t need to put on these pretentious clothes each day to feel good. We have everything we need in our family and friends. I think if we could take something from these ideals we could be more positive in our lives. It would give us the opportunity to embrace a motto that I adopted as my own… #enjoythelittlething.
Motivation Monday #2
Sometimes I find myself so stressed about the future. I find myself so busy getting to the future that what i do today is reduced to a means of getting there. I see myself living for tomorrow and i forget to live today. I forget how beautiful today is and how blessed I am for it. So for today remind yourself to live for right now and always #enjoythelittlethings.
