Community
It seems to me that many people do not want to rule the world. Many people do not care if the whole world looks, thinks, acts just like them, they just want to live in a community they feel safe in, and cared about. As a result, we don’t have to change all that much for everyone’s needs to be met and our interests to be aligned.
I do not want to eradicate or replace any outside organization operating in love. I do not want to put an end to anyone’s religion or culture. I want Thrice Born to be a hub where differing beliefs can work together to better organize our communities and help our followers find the community they feel best in. I want the concerned minister to call me and say “There’s someone here who isn’t really fitting in; there’s someone asking questions I don’t have the answers for; there’s someone here I don’t think I can protect from xyz. Would you send someone to meet with them, listen with an open mind, answer their questions, and see if there might be a community they are happier and safer in? Would you send someone to speak to my congregation or give a series of lessons on how we could become a safer place for this person?”
There are so many different facets to community and I think humans are so quick to forget that we don’t have to be the same just to get along. It’s okay to have an opinion. It’s okay to have an identity. It’s okay to want to stay close to what feels familiar. It’s also okay to let the new in a little at a time, and it is okay to ask for help when we are ready it. Christ didn’t die for you to be all things to all people-- Christ died so you could be you. For those of you who don’t relate to the sentiment, just be yourself. It’s not a cure all, it’s not a pair of ruby slippers, but it’s all we have. Until we learn to prioritize ourselves, nothing else matters. Once we learn this, however, nothing else matters.
Once we learn to prioritize our own needs and wants, to be accountable to and for ourselves, to self-regulate, to be self-supporting – all of these to the best of our ability—much of the resistance in our lives dissolves or fades to an occasional hiccup. We learn to wear our bodies like the luxury they are, we learn to ask for help and delegate because it makes the job safer & simpler, we learn to accept no the first time and move on. We learn we no longer have to struggle to thrive. The more we regulate our individual needs and allow others space to do so, the more fully we are able to love ourselves and the more fulfilling our lives become.
