tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117228672516231239.post5951095154910290722..comments2023-04-04T09:49:49.640-04:00Comments on What I'm Thinking Today: Dying to Be Themselvesawitchtryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09626760512365562043noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117228672516231239.post-74892800213832995552010-10-11T12:10:08.480-04:002010-10-11T12:10:08.480-04:00I want to live in love. I don't like the fact...I want to live in love. I don't like the fact that this causes such great anger in me. I can't abide injustice and I don't see the sense in separating people in this way. I know that my anger- that backlash- does nothing but fuel the hatred of others. I don't like the fact that I find it hard to think of another way to respond.<br /><br />I think that's one of my lessons right now- to learn to respond in new ways. I don't want to be a part of the hate. I don't want my emotions to feed into the anger that makes us feel separate. I don't want there to be sides, I feel so adamant about the wrongness of the division. In this moment, the moment I wrote this, I was failing that lesson. I may still be. I'm angry that people act in ways that make me so angry. :) <br /><br />I am a vessel of love. That is why I'm here. If I don't do any other extraordinary thing in this lifetime, I want to love everyone and everything around me with all I have. I need to learn the way to see past the actions of others, to see beyond all the things that seem different, to the hearts of every person who crosses my path and love them all, to the bones.awitchtryinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09626760512365562043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117228672516231239.post-54425568929485596402010-10-10T08:32:08.831-04:002010-10-10T08:32:08.831-04:00I remember the day I changed. I was a religious z...I remember the day I changed. I was a religious zealot...my true confession, that is until one day a friend of mine was in tears. He confessed to me he was gay. We walked and talked all through the night, he talked and I listened. I listened to his torment, his suicidal thoughts, and I kept wrestling with my beliefs and kept thinking about unconditional love. I wasn't trying to change him and I most certainly did not reject him. I didn't push him away as our church had done. I listened to him tear himself apart and I simply said, "You are who you are and that doesn't matter...God looks at your heart." We both cried. I realized at such a young age that the teachings I had been given were not about condemnation or laws or doctrines...it was about being willing to love. I was only 17 years old and I saw the light...was about being able to love a person right where they were and to not make them into an image I thought they should be. I learned that hate is not love. So we have to give people the chance to change like I did and it will not come about trying to control other people with laws, but with the same freedom I had. To realize just because a person isn't like me...doesn't mean I have to be like them. I didn't have to absorb his pain, I just had to understand his pain. I didn't have to hate those that didn't understand....I didn't have to choose a side. What we all have to realize is the whole spectrum of life and death comes down to this, we all need each thread. For love is not hate and hate is not love. So the stories are out there all of the time and we have to choose...to continue to be polarized or to right in that moment neutralize it. I didn't leave his side the whole night because I saw two lives that needed to change...his to keep on living and mine to learn to love.Marilynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05090687138872179144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117228672516231239.post-16096317513160641912010-10-08T11:52:39.315-04:002010-10-08T11:52:39.315-04:00Thanks! And what is normal anyway? I think that w...Thanks! And what is normal anyway? I think that word should be sequestered in labs where they need something to test against. If there is ever a human norm, let it be love and acceptance.<br /><br />I try so hard to not judge. It happens. Anger gets the better of me sometimes. I feel so defensive and there's that immature part that wants to call others out when they seem to need to act superior. None of us is and we need to accept that. Maybe that's where the hate comes from- the need to believe one is better than others. If someone can say that another person (or group) is really wrong, maybe it makes them feel more right, or righteous.awitchtryinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09626760512365562043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117228672516231239.post-54561728727771738692010-10-08T10:03:02.619-04:002010-10-08T10:03:02.619-04:00Here, here. Not just a rise in homophobia, there s...Here, here. Not just a rise in homophobia, there seems to be such an awful trend towards persecuting anyone who is seen to be different/ not normal - whatever normal is. Thanks for another thought provoking post and for that apology - just as we should never label anyone for who they love, we should not label all christians as hateful bigots.Felicity Grace Terryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17852843882007267665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117228672516231239.post-69468033162009223642010-10-07T22:39:13.350-04:002010-10-07T22:39:13.350-04:00Thank you. I have to apologize if I expressed ang...Thank you. I have to apologize if I expressed anger at Christians in general. I know that there are many loving Christians in the world who do not act in hateful ways or judge others based on who they love. I'm so sorry that people commit horrific acts in the name of their religion and my anger is directed solely at their actions, not even at the people. I feel sorry for them. The feelings of hatred and anger they harbor aren't healthy.<br /><br />I pray, again and still, for peace for all. I pray that people will learn to let go of fear and hate and learn to love and act in loving ways. I pray for peace inside us all, for forgiveness and peace.awitchtryinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09626760512365562043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117228672516231239.post-86677163901708047222010-10-07T20:19:48.802-04:002010-10-07T20:19:48.802-04:00I want to comment and I don't know what to say...I want to comment and I don't know what to say. What a sad place this world is sometimes. What madness we inflict upon each other, and often in the name of religion.<br /><br />I don't want to give it strength, so I'll just say...peace to all.Myrna R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15088915165678737118noreply@blogger.com