Small Changes - Great Movement!

It is easy not to notice when changes happen slowly. For instance, every day the amount of time the sun spends in our sky is different. As we get closer and closer to winter solstice, we really begin to notice how sparse the daylight hours are. At some point in the summer, we notice how long the days seem. But from today to tomorrow, we usually don't notice the couple of minutes of difference.

Change in the LGBT movement happens in much the same way. There are moments when we really feel the burden of oppression and moments when we are happily aware of our victories. In between those, we are likely not to notice the tiny changes that happen every day; but they are the ones that set the stage for the moments that we do notice.

Another phenomenon seems to occur during the on-going swinging of this pendulum: we are much more likely, as the days grow shorter or the oppressions bear down harder, to succumb to heavy, down-trodden thoughts. We become more likely to allow ourselves to seep into depression and to be more aware of the things that aren't going the way we want them to go. Likewise, it often seems easier to be cheerful on a long summer day or after some small victory for our movement.

We can all learn much from the new age movement, but one thing that I think is particularly worth paying attention to is the power of positive thinking. We are, at all times, in control of our frame of mind. We choose how to address situations, how to think about them, and how to voice them. And, of course, the more positive energy and positive thought that we put in to anything, the better it will turn out.

With all of this in mind I would like to offer us a challenge and a gift idea that everyone can afford for this holiday season. I challenge all of us to choose to think positively at all times – during these short days, during the long days, when we feel down-trodden and when we feel victorious. Let's be aware of whether we are putting good energy or negative energy into our lives and the lives of the people around us. Every moment of every day we choose to act in ways that are loving or fearful. It is up to each of us.

Whether or not you subscribe to any particular belief system, I think these are gifts we can all give to ourselves and to each other this holiday season and beyond: openness, hope, love and care.

Assume that things are getting better, and function from a place of hope and positive, forward thinking. Choose to approach people and situations expecting the best from them. Choose love and kindness over fear. Choose positive actions and collaboration over criticism and scrutiny. Choose to give these gifts to yourself and the people around you and the organizations with which you are involved. Perhaps, with these kinds of choices, we will notice more and more victories, and fewer and fewer oppressions.

Have a warm, loving and thoughtfully-positive holiday season.