Love who you are and who you love
Love who you are and who you love
Whizdom Wednesday: 06.26.2024
The only way to be truly happy is to love who you are and who you love. Anonymous
Happiness comes from being authentic and embracing your identity. That authenticity extends to being comfortable in sharing your true self with people who will love you for who you are, even your flaws.
Self-acceptance is a well-known journey for queer individuals. It involves grappling with the realization that you are different from your peers. This process varies in timing and pace, often beginning in youth, influenced by family dynamics and the surrounding environment.
Queer individuals undertake an additional journey beyond the typical growth of mind, body, and spirit. This journey involves self-acceptance, which means confronting, understanding, and overcoming perceived barriers that hinder their true selves.
That journey took me many years. I recognized I was different in grade school and by high school, I knew the term for it: gay. I faced an unwelcoming environment with no support to help me navigate those years. This challenging process concluded when I was 25, as I finally felt confident in my path and direction in life.
"Who you love" in this context means surrounding yourself with people who love you and with whom you share a deep connection. It involves finding those who understand or have experienced similar journeys and are willing to listen and support you. Happiness arises when self-acceptance and mutually loving relationships come together.
Today is the 9th anniversary of the Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court ruling on the 14th Amendment that mandated states to recognize and license marriages between same-sex couples.
That ruling is about the broader community accepting the loving relationships of same-sex couples and their choice to spend their lives together. It represents the civil recognition of gay and lesbian marriages by the government. It does not infringe on religious freedom or require faiths to perform marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples.
I have been in a loving relationship with my husband for 35 years, legally married in 2009. That marriage is recognized by all states thanks to Obergefell v. Hodges. My husband and I are truly happy loving who we are and those who love us.
Every Wednesday, I select a quote from my thoughts-to-keep journal. I tune out the outside world for ten minutes to reflect and write about that tidbit of wisdom.
This year was 20 years since my husband and I got married in Vancouver BC - we still have a patchwork of "status" - married in the U.S., domestic partners in Italy and because of his citizenship, also domestic partners in Spain where we live now. We've always joked that our relationship changes depending on which state/country/time zone we're in...