Hey there everyone!!

It starts with an unexpected conversation.

Sportsmanship, for me, is when a guy walks off the court and you relaly can't tell whether he won or lost, when he carries himself with pride either way.

My friend, Jim, (though we only talk once every six months), just called and asked me why do they call it “pride”? (That's wasn't his opener, of course.)

I love making shit up. So I said,”Well, you know, historically the gays and lesbians were outcast—it was illegal to be gay/lesbian, and they probably wanted a word to keep it on the down-low, so people wouldn't know who they really are.”

Jim said that was ironic. Now they come out in full-force and are obvious about everything.

I continued, “Isn't it interesting how we as humans and as society swing from one end of the pendulum to the other?”

The Polarities of Pride

And that's when this newsletter article topic hit me! Pride could mean the healthy feeling of self-confidence about one's identity, but conversely could mean hubris and a lack of contact with reality.

Specific to sexuality, on one end of the spectrum, we have suppression of even physical contact and beauty in some cultures, where tons of inhumane acts behind-the-scenes go unnoticed and not talked about. On the other end of the spectrum, we have explicit sexual displays in public, in entertainment, and in advertising. Pornography is the largest consumption of bandwidth on the Internet, and is also one of the biggest revenue streams for some hotel chains.

The Spectrum is 3D and in High-Definition

In life, I've uncovered that we don't need to be at either extreme. In fact, the spectrum is infinitely detailed in where we want to sit from our perspective. We can choose to move closer in to the middle, or be happy about our choice wherever we sit. This is the artful dance of consciousness.

We can sometime look at the other extreme to get a sense of comfort on where we are. There's a philosophy to always compare ourselves to people who are extremely more unfortunate than we are, in order to feel gratitude. If I wanted a new pair of shoes, someone might suggest, “Think about the person who has no feet!”

Confidence isn't walking into a room and think you're better than everyone, it's walking in not having to compare yourself to anyone at all.

Confidence isn't walking into a room and think you're better than everyone, it's walking in not having to compare yourself to anyone at all.

In the past, I didn't like doing that because I felt in took me away from my present reality and wasn't a fair comparison. Wouldn't this attitude always keep me content with what I have and not want me to strive for more?

Sometimes, we have to.

Do what you have to to do until you can do what you want to do.

Now I've learned that in life, sometimes we really do have to compare ourselves to people who are severely more unfortunate than we are. It's not a way to escape present circumstances, but a survival mechanism to deal with our adversities.

It's a survival technique you can adopt to maintain your sanity in the midst of the treacherous adventures you have chosen and or, unbeknownst to you, stressful journeys that lie ahead.

A flower never worries about blooming. It just opens up to the light.

A flower never worries about blooming. It just opens up to the light.

Yes, the Pride Movement still has a long way to go. But when you are challenged by any obstacle, remember how far you've come (or how long it has taken other movements to create significant change). Be with your roots, and your branches will flourish with the wind.