When We Live More Fully Into Who We Truly Are

When we live more fully into who we truly are;

When we name and claim the various aspects

of who we were called to be;

People may reject us.

They may call us crazy

Or dangerous

Or try to destroy us.

This does not change who we are.

This does not make us bad or negate our truth;

Rather, they are colliding with their own assumptions

about who we were,

and it is an uncomfortable process.

It may affect their own perceptions of their 'club;'

Trouble the foundations of 'this is who we are together.'

Stigma runs deep and has real-life consequences.

Our truth may bring up other difficult truths

in the people around us

that they are still working to hide

or leave behind.

The answer is not to become silent once again;

to pretend to be

something other than who we are;

not to hide our light under the bushel basket

any more than we may need to do to survive

for a time

until we find enough safety

to let our light shine in its fullness.

Yet we may need to let them go

so we can grow and thrive and bloom;

the seed we have planted

through our choosing to exist

may be buried deep within them

but is surely planted nonetheless;

though the soil may be rocky or dry;

though they may try to eradicate it

like a weed;

in doing so they may leave

desolation in their wake--

a sterile, barren landscape

trampled flowers

in what might have been a vibrant garden

with openness, curiosity, and nurture.

And so we may find ourselves adrift for awhile;

uprooted;

searching for a new garden, a new place

to be among those who do welcome us for who we are

and all that we are;

nurture us

prune us in the right times and in the ways

that do not leave us with jagged scars

but bring us into ever fuller bloom

And perhaps someday, too,

those who once worked so hard

to stamp out the weeds

may discover the light within

may be open to watering

and fertilization

and their garden may grow

planted with enough flowers--

not uniform rows

of a solitary species--

but wild, zany, unique

each beautiful in their own way

watered with enough welcome

with enough acceptance and understanding

with enough room for everyone

to finally thrive.