Celebrate Who We Are
"I don't just accept it, I rejoice in the fact that you are gay". Gloria Vanderbilt addressing her son Anderson Cooper coming out to her.
Just this morning Anderson Cooper shared the quote about his mother after he revealed to her that he was gay. What we can learn from her statement is that it is not enough to be accepted but that each of us should be celebrated. It is one thing for people to tolerate differences in others but it is not the same as cheering others on and supporting them in a way that truly says that you love them. When Anderson came out to his mother he did not likely expect that kind of celebratory response from his mother. Yet this is the kind of response that we should all get from others about who we are and what we find sacred.
Being a man of color is not always easy. In fact I have had many negative situations and endured a number of racial slurs and insults. I have more than anything understood that as long as I was not too Latino acting that others would more easily accept me because then all they had to do was to tolerate me. As long as I behaved like an Anglo then others would simply bypass the fact that I was not an Anglo. I have had many instances when I have had others throw a dig at my race couched in a joke. For many years of my life I would literally allow people to think I as Italian because according to their commentary "You don't have an accent". I know first hand that it is not enough to be accepted, I want to be celebrated for who I am and being a Latino is a big part of me and the pride I feel as a man and as a human being.
There is a movement today for women who have curves. I call them real women because the truth is that the average woman is a size 14. This movement is really about snuffing the myth that pretty women are a size 4 and that the depiction of beauty is simply not realistic. We give a lot of lip service about women with curves yet we are still not seeing them celebrated in the same way as others who are skinny. In fact there is a lot of work to be done in this area so that we see real women being given roles in movies and appearing in fashion magazines. It is only when we start to celebrate the real woman's body that we will truly become accepting of the fact that there are more women like them than the ones on the cover of Vogue.
In the end we all know that the first person who needs to believe we are wonderful is our self. The bottom line is that we can expect that we be seen by others and that if others don't then we must consider discontinuing the relationship. It is only when others celebrate who we are that they truly embrace us fully and we feel a complete connection. Although we may need to continue to have superficial relationships with others we can do so knowing what role they have in our life. Not everyone will celebrate you and embrace us completely yet what we must always know is that we can celebrate ourselves.
Activity:
List the characteristics that you feel are worthy of celebrating. Are the people you interact with celebrating those things about you? Who in your life do you need to sit and chat with about seeing your gifts? Talk to those people and in a kind manner point out what you need them to know and really see about you as a person.
Think about what it is that you are doing to impede others from seeing your gifts. Do you share your gifts with others? How important have you made it to let others know what you need to hear from them? Consider being more open about sharing yourself with others and asking for what you need from them. Be intentional about sharing what is meaningful about you with others.
Just this morning Anderson Cooper shared the quote about his mother after he revealed to her that he was gay. What we can learn from her statement is that it is not enough to be accepted but that each of us should be celebrated. It is one thing for people to tolerate differences in others but it is not the same as cheering others on and supporting them in a way that truly says that you love them. When Anderson came out to his mother he did not likely expect that kind of celebratory response from his mother. Yet this is the kind of response that we should all get from others about who we are and what we find sacred.
Being a man of color is not always easy. In fact I have had many negative situations and endured a number of racial slurs and insults. I have more than anything understood that as long as I was not too Latino acting that others would more easily accept me because then all they had to do was to tolerate me. As long as I behaved like an Anglo then others would simply bypass the fact that I was not an Anglo. I have had many instances when I have had others throw a dig at my race couched in a joke. For many years of my life I would literally allow people to think I as Italian because according to their commentary "You don't have an accent". I know first hand that it is not enough to be accepted, I want to be celebrated for who I am and being a Latino is a big part of me and the pride I feel as a man and as a human being.
There is a movement today for women who have curves. I call them real women because the truth is that the average woman is a size 14. This movement is really about snuffing the myth that pretty women are a size 4 and that the depiction of beauty is simply not realistic. We give a lot of lip service about women with curves yet we are still not seeing them celebrated in the same way as others who are skinny. In fact there is a lot of work to be done in this area so that we see real women being given roles in movies and appearing in fashion magazines. It is only when we start to celebrate the real woman's body that we will truly become accepting of the fact that there are more women like them than the ones on the cover of Vogue.
In the end we all know that the first person who needs to believe we are wonderful is our self. The bottom line is that we can expect that we be seen by others and that if others don't then we must consider discontinuing the relationship. It is only when others celebrate who we are that they truly embrace us fully and we feel a complete connection. Although we may need to continue to have superficial relationships with others we can do so knowing what role they have in our life. Not everyone will celebrate you and embrace us completely yet what we must always know is that we can celebrate ourselves.
Activity:
List the characteristics that you feel are worthy of celebrating. Are the people you interact with celebrating those things about you? Who in your life do you need to sit and chat with about seeing your gifts? Talk to those people and in a kind manner point out what you need them to know and really see about you as a person.
Think about what it is that you are doing to impede others from seeing your gifts. Do you share your gifts with others? How important have you made it to let others know what you need to hear from them? Consider being more open about sharing yourself with others and asking for what you need from them. Be intentional about sharing what is meaningful about you with others.
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