LGBT wisdom from Winnie the Pooh and friends

As we all know, Winnie the Pooh and his friends are all very wise. Here's just one excellent proof from dear Piglet -- “The things that make me different are the things that make me, Me."

Sadly for me, the things that make me different very often make people dislike me -- even before they know me! They also sometimes make me feel badly about myself. The truth is, there are lots of times in my life when I don't want to be me! My recurring comment to those who joke about me to my face is, "If you think it's hard being with me, try being me!" After all, I'm all I've got, and I'm stuck with me!

How do we learn that being different is bad? What are the nuances of growing up that make us think being homogeneous is better than being uniquely you and me? And why do those old, crushing voices echo so loudly through the years? Oh, the power of the human psyche! Ugh.

It shouldn't be so hard to be who you are! Here are the things that help make me uniquely me and that so often get me into trouble!

...I'm loudly extroverted.
...I hug everyone.
...I laugh and smile a lot. (That really freaks people out for some reason!)
...I love everyone. (Especially if everyone else hates them or gives up on them.)
...I don't care about sports teams of any kind, but I do like playing sports.
...Gray is my favorite color. (Really! Don't judge me! Lol...)
...I prefer a roomful of strangers to a roomful of friends.
...I'll talk to anyone.
...It's nearly impossible for me to hide my feelings.
...I only have highs and lows.
...My external and internal selves don't always jive.
...I cry easily. (I'm a tender feller!)
...I doubt everyone's love for me.
...I play the piano to cathart.

I wish I was (subjunctive/"were" felt too prissy) quiet and gentle, slow and steady, solid and sure. But I'm not; it's just not who I am. I'm trying to temper the me in me as I get older. But sometimes it's fake; that's not me. And I don't want to fight any more. I want to be a good me, but man that's hard work! Seems to me it shouldn't be so hard to be who I am!

And for so many of my gay friends and colleagues, trying just to be who they are can be so much harder because of the overt hate of too, too many people. (Yes, I know that's ridiculous in 2014! Just a sad reality, huh.)

I was at a gathering of some amazing folks the other evening at the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center talking about the exciting future for that vital unifying place. And, as I looked around the room, I found it absolutely thrilling to see the marvelous variety of men and women! It was one of those rare places and experiences where diversity wasn't the least bit "tolerated" -- it was prized! It's a place where you being you -- or trying to be you though in the face of harsh and cruel pressures of the hating world -- is considered a beautiful gift! There was love and laughter, heart sharing and tenderness, challenge and daring thinking in a way that I have seldom known elsewhere. It's a place where you don't have to be afraid.

The LGBT conundrum, from the perspective of my little corner of the world, is finding out where, when, and how to be real. It's overcoming the ache and fear that comes from being wonderfully unique and being treated badly for it. It's knowing who you are and people wanting you not to be you. It's being lovable and good and hopeful like anyone else but being given double and triple challenges just to be accepted. Yeah, I know we've made progress and we're making progress right now -- but as long as any LGBT man, woman, boy, or girl has to hang their head, hoping, wondering where they're safe and how they'll make it through today, we've got work to do! Big work -- and lots of it! Are you someone who helps or harms the cause?

I have places to go for safety and refuge -- where I can be the real me. I hope you do, too!

Love and hugs, Steve :-) xo

p.s. "If everybody were like everybody else, how boring it would be." -- A helpful reminder from our dreary friend, Eeyore