I'm dusting off the blog today for the sole purpose of "venting", if you will. At first I thought of just posting this as a Facebook status (since Facebook is the source of my mental anxiety) but I knew this would be a winded post, so I thought: better blog it.
Some of you who know me well may find this redundant or unnecessary, but maybe there are some of you who don't know me as well as you think you do. And while I try to maintain a civil Facebook account -after all, it can be accessed by anyone, anytime, and I try to be respectful to others- I don't think there is anything wrong with speaking my own opinion. I should feel comfortable enough to speak it on my own Facebook wall, but I'm not. So I'm putting it here, knowing it will link to Facebook, and those who want to read what I have to say will follow the link. Those who don't care what I have to say? That's cool, too. It's a free country, after all.
I'm going to try and simplify my thoughts, hopefully in the process simplify this rambling post.
I believe in the simple truths: equality, choice, and love.
That's it.
That's as deep as my beliefs go, and honestly, I think that's more than enough for me to sleep perfectly fine at night.
I renounced organized religions years ago, and it has been the most freeing experience of my life. I am no longer bound by thoughts, ideologies, and beliefs set out before me, but instead am left to discover myself, and in turn, discover the world around me. Everything I see, do, think and feel has been a learning experience for me over the last few years, and it's been amazing. Terrifying at times, lonely, isolated, shamed, unwelcome, scrutinized, pitied, hated, ignored, etc., but FREEING.
I believe in equality for everyone. We are all the same, we all deserve the same treatment, the same respect, the same rights. I'm not speaking on a social level, but a basic human rights level. We are all capable of good, just as we are all capable of evil, and in my eyes, we all deserve to be treated equally regardless of sex, color, age, race, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, etc., there is no one person better than the next.
I believe it is our basic right to choose everything for ourselves. No one should be allowed to tell us how to live our lives, how to believe, how to eat, drink, have sex, raise our children, make our homes, etc., - this of course opens up a dialogue about government and how laws can apply to this idea of "choice". What if I choose to be a serial rapist or a cold-blooded killer? That's my choice, right?
And that brings me to LOVE, the most important belief of all. We have to retrain our brains, hearts, bodies and souls (yes, I believe in the soul) to LOVE one another. We have to find our way back to that innocent child within all of us, who did not see differences, who was blind to disability and who believed so simply "be my friend and I'll be your friend" -- we must find our way back to love, it's the only way we can heal the hurt within ourselves.
We spend so much time as a "people" dividing ourselves by all these parameters that, in the end, really don't matter. You may disagree with every word I've written, you may even "hate" me after you've finished reading this, but I would like to think that should I endure tragedy, you would put aside those feelings and reach out...as a human being. I see that so often...conversations that begin with "I know we disagree, but..." Or "I know we've lost touch over the years, but..."
At the end of the day, we all want to be there for each other. I truly believe that. I believe we want to love one another, deep down, it's just the politics and the particulars that get in the way.
And I'm not against religion or those who are religious. I used to envy those who held such a high regard for blind faith. What I am against is allowing our hearts to be blinded by religion. We have to look deeper than religion, deeper than any teachings, and find our inner selves. Listen to our own hearts. What does YOUR HEART tell you? Not a preacher or a politician or the popular girl on Facebook...what is your heart saying directly to you?
And if you think I'm batty, if you disagree with me on some -or all- level, that's okay. It has to be okay, because I love you all, I want the best for you all, and I hope someday the world sees a global community of people passionate about other people. I know it's a "hippie" notion, one that may be unrealistic as the idea of pigs in flight, but it's a dream. It's a world worth dreaming of, worth working towards.
Basic human compassion. Non-judgment. Acceptance. Honesty. Intelligence. Room for everyone with every idea under the sun and stars.
We can love one another, we can appreciate one another, and we can accept one another - exactly as we are, exactly as the world is now.
It only takes a moment. Listen to your inner child, listen to your heart. Make peace with the evil you've bottled up inside, release your fears, your doubts, your prejudices. Erase the idea that we were created "differently" - return to innocence.
If you've made it through that episode, thank you, I didn't mean to ramble, but there it is. I am always open to discussion, so please feel free to message me, comment, call or text me, STOP ME IN THE STREET if you must!
I also believe in hugs, just putting that out there, too...
