Untenable

LGBTQ+ rights activists tirelessly champion the cause of sexual and gender orientation equality. Why? Because deep down, they know there is absolutely nothing wrong with who they are, how they feel, how they present themselves, or whom they love. The motivation to stand up and protest against injustice stems from a simple yet profound belief: Anti-LGBTQ sentiments are fundamentally wrong. ---- Context about the “1 Million March 4 Children” [Podcast theme music: Uppbeat (free for Creators). License code: AQZQJNQPLAWRJ9CB]

Sometimes, life presents opportunities as untenable disruptions. Less than two weeks ago, I badly sprained my ankle while walking my dog, Scooby. On the same day, my parner accepted a new job in Montreal, meaning he will have to move to a new province in two weeks time. Yikes! What does that mean for me, and how will I deal with these seemingly untenable situations? Listen to today’s episode and find out how you can go from what seems untenable to making the situation approachable.

Episode Summary Recently, I read “How Our Minds Shape Reality” by on The Dose. Here’s the tl;dr version of the article: If we always think negative thoughts, we’re going to focus on finding and expecting negative outcomes. This understanding of the brain and neuroscience can be applied to ‘more effective’ queer and trans advocacy. We must hold to the belief of a better future, one with greater freedoms, understanding, unalienable human rights, and so on. If we only focus on what’s wrong in the now and project that into the future, the narratives we use and the advocacy we promote will create that negative future, not just in our thinking, but in our approach and expectations. In other words, we will be fighting for the thing we don’t want to see, but ultimately, we will be co-creating it, giving it life by fighting against it in the future. [Podcast theme music: Uppbeat (free for Creators). License code: AQZQJNQPLAWRJ9CB]

Several months ago, I was struggling with no longer wanting to write about personal development and human-heartedness. “Should I rebrand?”, I asked myself. I had rebranded my Substack once before (almost twice if you noticed). Everything that I had been writing felt completely untenable. I had no more desire, interest, or energy to box myself in. Do you ever wish there was a way to solve all the world’s problems? That’s a tension I live with, fully aware that it’s unlikely I or anyone else will find a single, elegant solution to end the possibility of nuclear war, anti-2SLGBTQ+ prejudice, economic injustice, and climate change — to name a few global challenges. But I’d still like to encourage others to act for the greater good, especially if they have more agency than I do.

“Pretending to love another human being won't work because loving entails doing it for real. There's no such thing as a loving action, independent of sincerity.” This is such an important idea because it also applies self-referentially: If you don't sincerely love and accept yourself, it's going to be very difficult to sincerely love anyone else.

Earlier this year I published a short post titled, “Wisdom is Knowing That You Do Not Know.” I kept the post short, mirroring the brevity of the Tao Te Ching verse it speaks about. But I also recorded an unpublished podcast that speaks more broadly on ignorance and knowledge and how that affects our beliefs and values.