Submitted by Rick (not verified) on May 13, 2009 - 00:35.
Great stuff William...again.
From a spiritual perspective (which doesn't acknowledge sexuality or gender), there are infinite possibilities for familial connections with our gay brothers as well as our straight brothers. Whether or not we're able to acknowledge it and act on it, we are gifted with healthy and/or unhealthy "gaydar". The former being about unconditional loving and strength - the latter being about projection, fear, shame, guilt, denial etc.
The great gay journalist Kurt Wolfe can always leave any mouthy "gay community" luminary stuck for words by asking one simple question: "Is there more to being gay than sex?" But to be able to recognize a brother-in-spirit - and share apparently superficial "gay zeigeist" stuff like Judy Garland - is central to our real spiritual purpose inasmuch as "our own kind" is often more obviously real than the circumstances of our birth or upbringing. It is as much a fact as anything else we hold to be real in our lives.
At the onset of AIDS I said: "There will be fewer gay men, but better gay men". And for a while it appeared to be so - as the men who attended William in his darker days attest. Men who loved and served without an agenda, and more importantly with no fear of the consequences. But that correctly-working familial "gaydar" was soon overshadowed by the darker (and more fearful) other side of the coin: "Put a condom on - the next brother you sleep with is your potential killer!" And thirty years on we can see what a massive flop THAT "education" response and philosophy has been because our "sons" are having their lives artificially extended (while their teeth fall out) by drugs which are barely able to manage the disease, let alone cure it. It's time to move on from all that bullshit thinking, and look at things from a saner perspective which may create outcomes which actually work.
Only a fool would say we're currently on the right track, and that we're part of a strong, healthy and functional family. Each of us however has the capacity to grasp kinship and apply it specifically to our gay brothers, and then generally to the world around us. Each of us has the ability to say "I love him and it doesn't matter whether I find him sexually attractive or not". Each of us has a vision of how truly better our lives and the lives of others can be. Herein lies our real power: it's not egotistic to imagine yourself and your gay brothers leading the world with strength to a better place - it could very well be the dream job that the universe has already assigned to you. More power to you - accept it with humility and you will have great success.
What William calls "expanded awareness" is indeed more important and infinitely more powerful than the perceived lacks we experience in our lives, and claim to see all around us. If we imagine being gay to be a curse then that's exactly what it will be. But if we simply change our collective mind and tap into the idea that being part of the gay family is a spectacular opportunity to shift the world on its axis then we may find ourselves rightfully at the top of the heap, rather than the bottom.
Great stuff
Great stuff William...again.
From a spiritual perspective (which doesn't acknowledge sexuality or gender), there are infinite possibilities for familial connections with our gay brothers as well as our straight brothers. Whether or not we're able to acknowledge it and act on it, we are gifted with healthy and/or unhealthy "gaydar". The former being about unconditional loving and strength - the latter being about projection, fear, shame, guilt, denial etc.
The great gay journalist Kurt Wolfe can always leave any mouthy "gay community" luminary stuck for words by asking one simple question: "Is there more to being gay than sex?" But to be able to recognize a brother-in-spirit - and share apparently superficial "gay zeigeist" stuff like Judy Garland - is central to our real spiritual purpose inasmuch as "our own kind" is often more obviously real than the circumstances of our birth or upbringing. It is as much a fact as anything else we hold to be real in our lives.
At the onset of AIDS I said: "There will be fewer gay men, but better gay men". And for a while it appeared to be so - as the men who attended William in his darker days attest. Men who loved and served without an agenda, and more importantly with no fear of the consequences. But that correctly-working familial "gaydar" was soon overshadowed by the darker (and more fearful) other side of the coin: "Put a condom on - the next brother you sleep with is your potential killer!" And thirty years on we can see what a massive flop THAT "education" response and philosophy has been because our "sons" are having their lives artificially extended (while their teeth fall out) by drugs which are barely able to manage the disease, let alone cure it. It's time to move on from all that bullshit thinking, and look at things from a saner perspective which may create outcomes which actually work.
Only a fool would say we're currently on the right track, and that we're part of a strong, healthy and functional family. Each of us however has the capacity to grasp kinship and apply it specifically to our gay brothers, and then generally to the world around us. Each of us has the ability to say "I love him and it doesn't matter whether I find him sexually attractive or not". Each of us has a vision of how truly better our lives and the lives of others can be. Herein lies our real power: it's not egotistic to imagine yourself and your gay brothers leading the world with strength to a better place - it could very well be the dream job that the universe has already assigned to you. More power to you - accept it with humility and you will have great success.
What William calls "expanded awareness" is indeed more important and infinitely more powerful than the perceived lacks we experience in our lives, and claim to see all around us. If we imagine being gay to be a curse then that's exactly what it will be. But if we simply change our collective mind and tap into the idea that being part of the gay family is a spectacular opportunity to shift the world on its axis then we may find ourselves rightfully at the top of the heap, rather than the bottom.