 |
|
Posted: 30 Jul 2012 06:20 AM PDT
 Relationships are a dance in which sometimes one person leads and sometimes the other does.The dance can be awkward – especially if you are first learning the steps or when you have a new dance partner. Perhaps your partner crowds you and steps on your toes, or maybe he bobs and weaves and makes you dizzy. Often, however, we feel pulled in different directions at the same time. One pull is towards growing closer to the beloved.
Western religious marriage rites celebrate the idea of “the two becoming one flesh.” The other pull is towards safety and independence, and it can be just as powerful as this urge to merge. We fear being engulfed by the other, becoming lost in love. Both of these urges are normal and understandable. If you had no desire to mesh with your partner, you might as well be roommates. But healthy relationships allow each partner to maintain his identity, distinct from the shared identity as a couple.
There is a dynamic balance that allows both connection and detachment. We’ve all grown up with the myths about relationships that are pervasive in our culture and in the media. Models of healthy relationships are rare.
One model most of us have tucked away somewhere inside us – for better or for worse – is the model presented by our parents. Did your parents model a healthy blending of connection and closeness, while also permitting individuality and distinctness?
Balance means sometimes putting your partners’ needs before your own – but not always doing so. Your partner may need more support around some challenge in his own life, for instance, or around a particular problem or challenge.
Being supportive of each other and feeling that support back is part of the joy of being in a relationship. But if you are always doing the supporting and rarely feel that backing in return, it’s time to change course. Another clue: if you find that after entering into the relationship you find that you no longer have time for your old friends or old hobbies and activities that had great meaning for you.
Or you are constantly rearranging your schedule to accommodate the needs, or potential needs, or your boyfriend. Do you know your own needs and desires, or do you find yourself just going along with your partner in everything from what to eat for dinner to what you want out of life?
Knowing yourself can be difficult, but it is not your partner’s job to give you the answers – even if you hope that he will. This taking responsibility for yourself is for you to do.
Make some time for yourself. Find pursuits that are yours alone, as well as ones to share with your boyfriend. Exercise, read a book, visit friends. Spending every moment with your partner isn’t necessarily a sign of your deep love and commitment, and it can become boring! Better to find a balance – there’s that word again – between things you do together and things you do by yourself.
Losing your identity and your sense of yourself is not a testimony to your great love for your partner. It’s a problem, and one that can undermine a relationship. Only when you have a sense of yourself can you truly connect with another in a healthy way.
John R. Ballew, M.S. an author and contributor to GAYTWOGETHER, is a licensed professional counselor in private practice in Atlanta. He specializes in issues related to coming out, sexuality, relationships and spirituality. If you have any questions or comments you can submit them directly to GAYTWOGETHER or John R. Ballew, M.S. -www.bodymindsoul.org.
|
Monday, July 30, 2012
Lost in Love?
Sunday, July 29, 2012
G'day JustinO,
I watched Australian Story last night on telly about an Aussie country singer who went to Iraq some years ago to entertain troops, both Aussies and Americans. Later, she received a letter from a fan who was anti war. He said he'd ripped her poster from his bedroom wall because of her visit to Iraq. She was so upset - angry and saddened at the same time - she used that energy to write a song. It became a hit both in Oz and the US. She still gets mail from vets in the States thanking her for writing that song... and even from widows of US soldiers who died serving their country. Even the Pentagon wrote an official letter to thank her.
About a dozen years ago, she married a man and bore his child. But there was something missing from the marriage. She couldn't figure out what it was. Her husband was a great guy and they got along really well. But just after the baby was born, they divorced. Shortly thereafter, she realized she was gay. At first, she was reluctant to come out to her fans. She thought they might reject her. But eventually she relented, and now she's accepted for who she is.
Her name is Beccy Cole, and this is the song she wrote for the man who took her poster from his wall.
Gary
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
A second post from COOPs. . . .Conservatives for Equality
This article is from the New ENgland GLBT newspaper, Boston based, BAY WINDOWS . . . . .
http://www.baywindows.com/Conservatives-launch-group-supporting-marriage
http://www.baywindows.com/Conservatives-launch-group-supporting-marriage
Introducing our new ‘Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry’ campaign
Jul 10, 2012 at 09:20 am
In Washington, D.C. today, Freedom to Marry is launching Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry, a new campaign to spotlight and increase support for conservatives in the United States who are speaking out on why marriage matters to same-sex couples and their families. Freedom to Marry will also be hosting a brunch at the Republican National Convention in Tampa in late August in order to further bring together the key demographic in this new campaign.
The launch event today will feature a number of prominent conservative voices who support the freedom to marry. Congresswoman Illeana Ros-Lehtinen, who signed on as the first Republican co-sponsor for the Respect for Marriage Act, the law that would repeal the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act, is one of the event's speakers. She said:
As Republicans we believe in equality ofopportunity rather than outcome. Most importantly, we believe that the individual and the family are the central engines in our society. The right for individuals to lead their lives without government intrusion is a bedrock conservative principle and it is much more than just about sexual orientation. It is about the fundamental rights we all share as Americans. It is about equality for all with no exceptions.
Public opinion polls demonstrate that young Republicans, Libertarians, and others who identify as conservatives are increasingly favoring the freedom to marry for all couples. In May, a poll from The Washington Post and ABC News indicated that 46% of self-identified Republicans ages 18-44 support the freedom to marry, and the rate of increase accelerates every year.
Last year's Public Religion Research Institute Survey found that nearly half (49%) of Republican Millenials favor the freedom to marry, while 19% of Republican seniors and 31% of all Republican said the same. Clearly, the next generation of conservatives is driving these tectonic shifts in their party, and their thoughtful voices and willingness to depart from the perspectives shared by their older party members should be applauded and supported.
Our National Campaign Director, Marc Solomon, discussed the importance of the campaign. He said:
The center of political gravity has shifted for good. The freedom to marry is fast becoming a bipartisan value embraced by all Americans who believe that love and commitment deserve support and protection. Freedom to Marry applauds this group of young conservatives for standing up to make the case.
The Young Conservatives campaign is headed by a dynamic leadership committee. The team members include CNN political commentator Margaret Hoover, Comcast government affairs manager Madeline Koch, New Hampshire Republican for Freedom and Equality Executive Director Tyler Deaton, Berman and Company VP Sarah Longwell, Denzenhall Resources VP Nicole Neily, International Center for Law & Economics Director of Operation Will Rinehart, government relations professional Torrey Shearer, and Marine Corps veteran Craig Stowell. Read all about the leadership committee HERE.
Read all about Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry HERE, and you can "like" the campaign on Facebook HERE.
blog comments powered by DISQUSMore on BatManKiller and GUNS
 |
|
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
What are these humans doing? Dancing. Many humans on Earth exhibit periods of happiness, and one method of displaying happiness is dancing. Happiness and dancing transcend political boundaries and occur in practically every human society. Matt Harding traveled through many nations on Earth, planned on dancing, and filmed the result. The video, the latest in a series of similar videos, is perhaps a dramatic example that humans from all over planet Earth feel a common bond as part of a single species. Happiness is frequently contagious -- few people are able to watch the video without smiling.
Gary
Thanks, Gary. . ..This is a fun great series of countries/people dancing. Join 'em.
AUSSIE Views on a USA Problem
An article about the gun lobby in the US...
By Tom Ehrich
Killings in Aurora, CO, immediately stirred unresolved issues about gun control in America. Just as quickly, the gun lobby shouted down those concerns. One Congressman said the answer was more guns, not fewer.
I have been observing these rituals for years. Like most of our political theater, true motivations and concerns get lost in the smoke.
The Second Amendment was about enabling widely scattered citizens to defend their communities by forming militias. People remembered how the British had tried to disarm colonialists and render them compliant.
People also needed weapons for hunting. In a great and gracious act, General Grant allowed Confederate soldiers surrendering at Appomattox to keep their rifles in order to feed their families.
The militia imperative, while reasonable in 1800, seems less pertinent today, as we have employed trained police forces to protect and serve. The Federal government, like its state and city counterparts, isn't an invading force that needs to be resisted with weapons. We are a democracy. If we don't like what the government is doing, we vote them out of office. If our votes don't attain a majority, that isn't a problem we can resolve with weapons.
For a time, the gun lobby focused on hunters and sportsmen. That made sense when the weapons in question were shotguns and target pistols. Assault rifles, however, aren't about hunting or sport. Neither are machine pistols, oversized cartridges, so-called “cop killer” ammunition, Glocks or ceramic weapons capable of evading metal detectors. Those are about killing people.
Now the gun lobby focuses on fear, loathing and taking the law into one's own hands. That's about nothing more than using fear to maximize profits. It's like the craven politicians who use fear to win votes.
I find it curious that the gun lobby has such power. Congressmen don't hesitate to turn against the massive cadre of elderly by threatening Medicare, or against the majority (women) by dialing down women's rights, or against families, drivers and workers by trashing infrastructure like schools, highways, and workplace rules, or against the pleading of their own police forces who know they will be the primary target for over-the-top weaponry.
The gun lobby's sway is proof that money in politics can corrupt anyone. It's also proof that we have some confused narratives circulating about. One confused narrative is that people must defend themselves, because government is incompetent. Another is that government can't be trusted. Another is that freedom is, bottom line, about getting one's way. Another is that America is strongest when citizens are armed and ready to kill.
None of those narratives can withstand scrutiny. But they persist, because they answer some deep-seated questions that we might be barely aware of asking. Like, what does it mean to be a man when patriarchy ends? What does it mean to be white when non-white populations are growing? What does it mean to be an American when our basic institutions are profoundly corrupt and the outside world has stopped admiring us? What does it mean when a few live so large and the rest of us live so small?
These are the same questions that underlie our presidential politics -- and our candidates are answering them no better than the gun lobby is answering them. They all demonstrate a failure of ideas and imagination.
Shouting and shooting don't create better ideas, but they do fill a vacuum.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Latest Story
350 Maine Clergy Say “Vote Yes for Marriage”
A constant weakness in campaigns for marriage equality has been the ability of its opponents to portray themselves as standing up for marriage, supported by religion – and our side as somehow against marriage, and anti-religious . This is patently ridiculous: it is precisely because we recognize the value of marriage and support it, that we…
Read more »Sunday, July 22, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Add New Comment
Showing 0 comments