This week for the first time in their 40 year history, the Human Rights Campaign issued a National State of Emergency for the LGBTQIA+ community. Just let that sink in. Yeah it took me a moment too. (I urge you to visit hrc.org to learn more about what this entails.) I have been sitting with this for a few days, not really having the adequate words to express the wide range of emotions I am feeling. As a member of this community, the fear, anger, disbelief and confusion is real, maybe now more than ever. We are at a crossroads folx. Gone are the days of “someone else will do something” or “I am only one person what can I do?”. Now is the time to not only stand firmly in the spiritual principles that we claim, but to actually put action to those claims. If our own spirituality, whatever that may look like, does not embolden us to activate it in the world around us, then what is the point? It is that activation that has been the foundation of all civil rights and social justice movements. When our principles and values are called to meet the real lived experiences of our lives.
Individuals who have gone before us have said “stop, wait, no more!”. These brave individuals have been the catalyst for change in every corner of our world. In fact it was such individuals that birthed the PRIDE that we celebrate this month. The Stonewall Riots of 1969 became the spark that fueled, and continues to fuel a movement. Folx said “No more, we will no longer be silent and in the shadows. We are here and we are not going anywhere?” That should be ( I don’t often use the word should but I think it is appropriate here) our rallying cry in this very moment in history. Our spirituality can no longer be housed in the four walls of our homes or our spiritual communities. It is no longer someone else’s problem. We must for the sake of our own evolution begin to take action. We may say to ourselves “I don’t know what is mine to do?” Now although I can only answer that question for myself, I can assure you that we all must do something. We no longer have the luxury of waiting. This shit is real and it is in every crack and corner. Our LGBTQIA+ loved ones, community members, neighbors, friends, co-workers, spiritual community members, individuals in all aspects of our lives are being impacted. We are being called to allow the spiritual principles we hold dear to give us the guidance and strength to stand for, with, and alongside these individuals.
The quote “stand for something and against nothing” by the founder of Science of Mind Ernest Holmes is often used, in my opinion, to avoid social action in times such as these. I think Ernest would not be super excited at how his words have been used. Instead I think his words actually speak to the reality that our values, those principles that serve as the core components of who we are, must be out pictured in our connection and interaction with the world around us. Silence is not an option. Our spirituality must be active and engaged, otherwise what is the point. If it doesn’t change how I live and interact with the world outside my little sphere, it serves no purpose. Our time is now. We have the amazing opportunity to demonstrate the divine in action, because the only way the divine gets to play is through us expressing as itself. If you can hear the emphatic nature of my tone, then I am on the right track. I want to live in a world where no one has to be afraid to be their authentic selves, where love, compassion, empathy, connection and belonging are the norm. I want to live in and create a world that we will settle for nothing less. Drop the mic.