Love and Equality

Well, since today and tomorrow are "Equality's Days in Court", I've seen a lot of opinions both sensible and foolish being expressed through social media, and they've gotten me thinking. So here goes.

I believe in equality.
But there is much more to the term than the idea of marriage, traditional or homosexual.
Yes, I wholeheartedly believe that government ought not to be left to dictate and define what marriage is (ya know, separation of Church and State--government is not responsible for defining morality), which is my primary reason among others for supporting the equality movement.
But let's just be real with ourselves for a minute--put aside personal bias and pride and really search ourselves as a people. The question of whether or not gay marriage is legalized is not synonymous to the question of whether or not equality becomes prevalent.
The government is able to dictate whatever they please, but if the government tells you that you're no longer allowed to discipline your children, does that stop you from telling your thirteen year old daughter that she'll be in trouble if she breaks your household rules? No. A government is only as powerful as its nation allows it to be.


So if the government legalizes gay marriage, what about this action will bring about "equality"? Why give the government the power to tell us what a family is or is not? If gay marriage is legalized or prohibited, there is no guarantee of acceptance on either side. Everyone holds their own opinion regarding the topic, and no matter the government's decision (on any topic, really), there will always be a group of people who refuse to accept it. It's inevitable.
That being said, shouldn't the idea of equality be left up to individuals without the guidance of their government? Not everyone is going to agree with me on this--I know that, to each his own.

But I also believe in love. Not like a Nicholas Sparks' novel kind of love, but real love, powerful love, love that can change lives. Love that is as close to unconditional as we can get. Love that wraps its arms around people for who, not what, they are. Love that is without personal bias and reaches out without discrimination. Love that forgives, but does not forget; love that is not afraid to speak honestly, but also not afraid to be open-minded. Love that loves endlessly and without expectations.
Love that can be extended to homosexuals and heterosexuals alike, regardless of your religious standpoint.

A Different Kind of Perfect

Nobody's perfect, we all know that full well. The problem is, we all want to be perfect, regardless of the fact that perfection is unattainable.

There is nothing wrong with striving for perfection, but we have to realize what kind of perfection we strive for. More often than not, we strive for popular societal perfection which never ends well. We become people-pleasers and try to fulfill everyone else's expectations for us, leaving ourselves empty and thin-spread.
There's only one perfection that matters, and in order to achieve it we have to experience unconditional love. God is the only one who can love unconditionally, but I believe he personifies this love through certain people that He places in our lives.

For instance, as I type this, I'm having a conversation with my best friend. I've started to do so much better since my October incident and I slipped up last night. Not terribly, but I backslid a little bit. I got a sweet taste of my old life and loved it...until it was over. It all hid me like a tidal wave then, and it scared me and angered me at the same time. I can't afford to take any steps back--I can't afford to turn back down that road that almost ended my life only less than half a year ago. She has every right to judge me and dissect me, tearing me down for every time I've screwed up and had to come clean to her about it. However, I still felt comfortable pouring my heart out to her because I knew she wouldn't do any of those things. All she said was: "Aww baby, I'm so sorry. But don't beat yourself up about it. Just do better next time. Nobody is perfect and we all slip up."
I couldn't say it more perfectly.

How often do we need that reminder? Whether or not you're a believer, there's no denying the beauty behind this kind of love. And once we can accept that kind of love, it becomes easier to see the perfection behind our imperfections. Imperfections are not flaws, they are simply part of who we are. There is only so much we can do before we need to come to terms with the fact that the only type of perfection we ought to strive for is personal perfection. We have to be able to accept unconditional love as it is personified and learn to apply it toward ourselves. We were not created to live out anyone else's vision for our life but God's, and that can only be done by searching ourselves and aspiring toward what is best going to help us meet personal standards. There is nothing more rewarding than coming out of a situation knowing that you did all within your power to meet a standard of perfection--knowing that you are your own kind of perfect, and that is something that can't be taken from you.