I love my mind and how it cascades into its own limitlessness; taking me places I have never been, unveiling points of view never before seen. “Are you saying that you gonna start dressing up like a lady all the time?” “My whole life I’ve been dressing up as a man; this is me.” This is a dialogue between two characters in an award-winning TV series, Transparent. The answer provided by the second character struck a chord with me to a point of tears and triggered a cascade of thoughts, solidifying some, and inspiring new ones. Have you ever considered what life must be like for those who are gay, transsexual, transgender, or in any other way different? What it must be like to live in a world where how you see yourself or are seen, does not match what you feel about who you are? Think about this for a moment. Imagine: what would it be like to realize that your anatomy does not line up with who you feel yourself to be? What would it feel like to have to alter the way you express yourself to the world around you – all the time? Really take this in. What life must be like when you’re not able to be yourself? What must it be like for so many people to live a life that's not theirs? And can you imagine knowing that being yourself, your true essence, is perceived by most people as being wrong, unacceptable, or worse? And there is nothing you can do about it; not about the way you are nor the way you are perceived and judged. Do you begin to understand? Silently, I asked myself those questions and sat with them for awhile as my heart filled with great compassion and my eyes filled with tears. And then, I asked another question: what is the deeper intention and meaning for this human experience so many people go through? For something to be so different than the customary norm, there has to be a grand reason. The answer came swiftly: it is to teach us one of the most profound forms of acceptance. Feeling accepted is one of the basic needs of any human being and most of us struggle in this area in varying degrees. This is why we ought to be able to understand what it feels like to be deemed unacceptable. But so often we don’t, or we pretend we don’t; we choose ridicule over compassion, judgement over acceptance. Acceptance doesn’t mean agreement with or reverence of, it simply means the allowing of being. It is so much easier and natural to allow than to reject. Everyone and everything that is is here for a reason. We often hear the question ‘what is the purpose of life?’ There are many ways to answer it, though I have come to believe that, fundamentally, it is to expand human consciousness so that it elevates to meet Divine Consciousness, and we all play a part in that expansion. Today, as I pondered the more meaningful purpose of those who are gay and transgender, I have profound respect and deep gratitude for their life experiences, their role and contribution to that expansion, as well as for providing us with such an amazing opportunity to practice acceptance. And I say THANK YOU! Those who teach us the greatest lessons, who sacrifice and suffer greatest pain, are some of the most courageous Souls to have graced humanity. Acceptance brings with it a bounty of gifts, not the least of which are humility, love, and compassion. The way I see our collective life journey is this: we are all reading the same book; we’re just on different chapters. Transparent means letting light pass through without distortion. Let there be acceptance. Let there be light. Let there be love. Let there be peace. I dedicate this post to every person traveling this path. Anyone from Lee Daniels, Ellen DeGeneres, Tom Daley, Lady Gaga, Lily Tomlin, Bruce Jenner to Adam Lambert, Greer Lankton and Chaz Bono, as well as every other person whose name we may never know. I hug you all with my heart. With love & acceptance, What are your thoughts or opinions? Please share in the comments below.
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About the AuthorIn early Spring of 2011, as I sat with my journal at a family cabin, I felt the seed of my creative writing come through from beneath the surface. As I picked up my pen to begin my first journal entry, I felt a feeling of profound peace and indescribable comfort. All was well. I felt I was Home - finally! Archives
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