Be Who You Are

I came across these words a day or so ago and thought I’d share it with readers. It comes from a book I’m reading.

“. . . [W]e’re learning a new behaviour. It’s called Be Who You Are. For some of us, this can be frightening. What would happen if we felt what we felt, said what we wanted, became firm about our beliefs, and valued what we needed? What would happen if we let go of our camouflage of adaptation? What would happen if we owned our power to be ourselves?”

“Would people still like us? Would they go away? Would they become angry?”

“There comes a time when we become willing and ready  to take that risk. To continue growing, and living with ourselves, we realise we must liberate ourselves. It becomes time to stop allowing ourselves to be so controlled by others and their expectations and be true to ourselves – regardless of the reaction of others.”

“Before long, we begin to understand. Some people may go away, but the relationship would have ended anyway. Some people stay and love and respect us more for taking the risk of being who we are. We begin to achieve intimacy, and relationships that work.”

“We discover that who we are has always been good enough. It is who we were intended to be.”

What this says to me about us who are gay and who allow others to make us feel bad or evil (whether it’s a parent, or friend, or church, or society, or neighbour) is that the time must come when, to be truly ourselves, we stop letting what others think about us influence our thoughts, our actions, our souls, our lives, our present, and our future. I pray for all people who are gay or lesbian, that when the time is right for them they will allow themselves to be liberated from the chains others place around them.