Giving Away Your Power

Giving away your power is very easy. So easy in fact as we are trained from a very early age to relinquish it in exchange for love and value. If we don’t adhere to society’s rules, we are pushed to the edge of that society, vilified, demonised and devalued, and usually hunted down as miscreants and referenced as the abomination, becoming the focus of hate, loathing and disgust.

Being a trans woman, life has been hard as I’ve not had the opportunity to grow into the person I am, or the person I should be. Others around me had rules, defined limits where I had to accept them as they are but they didn’t have to accept me as I am. It gives one a sense of smallness and triviality, a pointless human being who doesn’t deserve a positive life, and one where you can thrive.

I learnt to hate myself as others had hated me. It must be me that’s the problem as so many said I was the thorn in their side. Some said that literally, but most said it via action, inaction and jubilation in fun making, with me being the jester, the focus of their ridicule.

When I see the various religious organisations actively demonise some people in our society, I am very confused, and extremely sad. Religious belief is, or so I understood, about being compassionate and loving to those who are troubled or in need, or different. I talk here more about the Catholic Church as they only seem to respond to punishment and penance. Suffering is their mantra. They cannot be religious unless they suffer. What they don’t realise is that it’s only when you transcend suffering do you grow. Staying in suffering for the sake of suffering means all you do is suffer.

Religion is about giving away your own power to a deity whose existence can not be proven. The pious then have no power of their own and so have to look elsewhere to discover this. And this is in the control of others around them with the beliefs they hold and so ram these down the throats of the faithful who become the army of foot soldiers who spread these damaging words to actively hurt those they see as different to them.

For me, power is not about having control over others; it’s about finding myself, being myself and fully expressing every part of me to the world. In that way I thrive and so does the world as the gifts I bring flourish and build. Humanity evolves with every part of every person who is showing every part of themselves as well as every part of their gifts.

We give our power away to these organisations as this is what we have been taught. It’s very difficult to challenge these organisations as we believe they hold power over us. We need to see that we have the power to be ourselves and can choose to ignore those who would try to demolish us.

We should choose to see these organisations, and the people within them, with compassion as every ounce of their individual power has been stripped from them due to their beliefs which are, I believe, outdated and not fit for purpose in the modern society we currently live. We are actually in the 21st Century; not the 17th.

I am an empath, a very strong one. I have compassion at my centre; it’s always been there and always will be. I see people, the real person behind the walls they erect to hide their true nature as they feel others will dislike them. I am sad that we allow others to dictate what is good or bad about us, what’s ok to show and what isn’t. I feel sad that society is growing more intolerant of differences and more intolerant of those who are already minorities.

Rather than demonise the LGBT+ communities more, the religious organisations should be actively guiding society to be a more accepting and compassionate nation. Or have I got that wrong?

Yes, we should accept we have the right to hold different viewpoints but that doesn’t mean we have the right to dictate and override the views of others and hold them to account with our beliefs. We cannot, and must not, measure others with our measuring stick as all we end up doing is hit them with it.

Life should be about communication and understanding; not brute force of numbers. Life should be about listening, really listening, not trying to shout down those who have a different viewpoint.

I feel sad and angry when articles in the media seek to maximise the suffering of trans children and limit their options to become fully themselves. They write their venom due to ignorance and a blatant disregard to the lives of trans people. They simple don’t care. And because it sells papers to a society already diminished by the venom residing in their hearts.

I feel sad and angry when I can do nothing for others. My compassionate soul screams out but no one is hearing. All I can do is show my complete self to the world. This is, I believe, the only way to change a world bent on the destruction of the individual and individuality. What would computing look like today had they not forced Alan Turing into an early grave.

Be the pebble, cause ripples, ripples of compassion.

My mantra is, “I always stand in my own power.” Make this yours.

The article below is what prompted my words.

Catholic Church opposes gender recognition law reforms in Scotland.