Today I rise to a new world.
It is profoundly palpable. I did not expect nor anticipate how deeply I would feel this revolution, and that, in truth is what it feels like to me...
A revolution of change, of peace, of hope, of acceptance. And I felt catapulted from my sickness and slumber and moved to write of these feelings. And here it is:
On Friday 22nd May 2015, the people of Ireland spoke. A majority of souls stood up for equality, possibility, justice, opportunity, inclusion.
The people of the Republic of Ireland voted 'Yes' and 62% of the little island were in favour of the proposed change to the constitution that will afford same-sex couples the equal rights and privileges of civil marriage. So how does this change impact and effect me, I ask myself? Reflecting and tuning in to the journey of the last couple of months, acknowledging both my limited capacity for action and activism due to embarking on a new course and career, the challenges that brings and then my resistance to supporting an outdated patriarchal institution and paradigm. See, even though I chose to buy into the aforementioned legal bond in my twenties, knowing what I do now, it's not something I would consciously and powerfully chose today. However, as I asked myself over the past few weeks, is this good enough excuse to opt out of voting? The decision I came to, before you start throwing tomatoes at the screen, is NO. No, it was NOT nearly a good enough reason to elect to sit on the fence, so to speak, or not speak more to the point!! In view of that, I applied to be place (albeit last minute) on the supplementary register and then, almost instantly, the penny dropped. The seemingly obvious importance of standing up and being counted hit home and I breathed a sigh of relief that I hadn't missed my chance to take that small but vital step to let my voice be heard... Thus begun the journey towards taking an active and collective part, energetically and physically supporting my fellow people in raising awareness, breaking through old and limiting beliefs and making new change happen. Personally and publically, I watched my motivations, observed my reactions and those of others. I cleared out my closet again and again and again, discerning what was my own prejudice and what was held in the collective consciousness that I may have taken on as part of my conditioning, familial, religious, cultural etc. It has been a revealing process that has opened pathways of healing that I am yet to travel and for that I am extremely grateful. Grateful to the brave souls who have been putting themselves out there all the while this late bloomer has been sitting in the shadows, smug in the shelter of my past experiences afforded to the privileges of hetero-normal society. I can confidently say that I believe that marriage should be separated from civil law altogether as it represents ownership and monetary means of ensuring inheritance. Historically it was more a record keeping exercise than a romantic reason for declaring two people's love, and there's another point-why limit it to 2 people? But that's for another day. I'm writing to say, regardless of my beliefs or personal preferences, that so long as a person can chose to enter into such a contract and so long as it's available to one-then it SHOULD definitely be available to ALL. This campaign has given everyone who identifies as any other label than heterosexual, including myself, a right that has previously been a privilege.
And that feels like a very good feeling to me today...
It feels like healing. It feels like the veil has been lifted on shame.
It feels like acceptance. It feels like love. It feels like home.
The shades of green are vibrant in all their diversity.
We are all woven into the tapestry of 40 shades of life.
There is a place for us all now in this brave new (Ire)land.
Photo credit : Etsy
It is profoundly palpable. I did not expect nor anticipate how deeply I would feel this revolution, and that, in truth is what it feels like to me...
A revolution of change, of peace, of hope, of acceptance. And I felt catapulted from my sickness and slumber and moved to write of these feelings. And here it is:
On Friday 22nd May 2015, the people of Ireland spoke. A majority of souls stood up for equality, possibility, justice, opportunity, inclusion.
The people of the Republic of Ireland voted 'Yes' and 62% of the little island were in favour of the proposed change to the constitution that will afford same-sex couples the equal rights and privileges of civil marriage. So how does this change impact and effect me, I ask myself? Reflecting and tuning in to the journey of the last couple of months, acknowledging both my limited capacity for action and activism due to embarking on a new course and career, the challenges that brings and then my resistance to supporting an outdated patriarchal institution and paradigm. See, even though I chose to buy into the aforementioned legal bond in my twenties, knowing what I do now, it's not something I would consciously and powerfully chose today. However, as I asked myself over the past few weeks, is this good enough excuse to opt out of voting? The decision I came to, before you start throwing tomatoes at the screen, is NO. No, it was NOT nearly a good enough reason to elect to sit on the fence, so to speak, or not speak more to the point!! In view of that, I applied to be place (albeit last minute) on the supplementary register and then, almost instantly, the penny dropped. The seemingly obvious importance of standing up and being counted hit home and I breathed a sigh of relief that I hadn't missed my chance to take that small but vital step to let my voice be heard... Thus begun the journey towards taking an active and collective part, energetically and physically supporting my fellow people in raising awareness, breaking through old and limiting beliefs and making new change happen. Personally and publically, I watched my motivations, observed my reactions and those of others. I cleared out my closet again and again and again, discerning what was my own prejudice and what was held in the collective consciousness that I may have taken on as part of my conditioning, familial, religious, cultural etc. It has been a revealing process that has opened pathways of healing that I am yet to travel and for that I am extremely grateful. Grateful to the brave souls who have been putting themselves out there all the while this late bloomer has been sitting in the shadows, smug in the shelter of my past experiences afforded to the privileges of hetero-normal society. I can confidently say that I believe that marriage should be separated from civil law altogether as it represents ownership and monetary means of ensuring inheritance. Historically it was more a record keeping exercise than a romantic reason for declaring two people's love, and there's another point-why limit it to 2 people? But that's for another day. I'm writing to say, regardless of my beliefs or personal preferences, that so long as a person can chose to enter into such a contract and so long as it's available to one-then it SHOULD definitely be available to ALL. This campaign has given everyone who identifies as any other label than heterosexual, including myself, a right that has previously been a privilege.
And that feels like a very good feeling to me today...
It feels like healing. It feels like the veil has been lifted on shame.
It feels like acceptance. It feels like love. It feels like home.
The shades of green are vibrant in all their diversity.
We are all woven into the tapestry of 40 shades of life.
There is a place for us all now in this brave new (Ire)land.
Photo credit : Etsy