Absolute Commitment

When something exploded out of nothing—when the first cause, the creative impulse, the God impulse chose to take that quantum leap from formlessness into form and become itself as the whole universe—it was an absolute event.

There was a fearless, choiceless, purposeful, wholehearted, absolute intention behind that dynamic impulse to become.

That is why, in the Authentic Self, which is the expression and manifestation of that same impulse in the awakening human at the level of consciousness, there is no fear and no self-concern. There is only an unselfconscious passion for ceaseless evolution, for its own sake, here and now.

Andrew Cohen France, Summer 2004

Queer people often talk about our desire for freedom from discrimination, from violence, from prejudice, from self-hatred. What would our lives and our activism look like if we really meant it?

This kind of question comes up at least once a year for most of us, sometime in late December or early January, when we set our goals for the year. We make resolutions to lose weight, rip our abs, quit smoking, be nicer to people, finish writing our book or not miss an episode of "Desperate Housewives." Statistically, most of us exhaust our drive after a few weeks of exertion.

Those who succeed in achieving their resolutions have one major asset: Clarity of Intention. The pursuit of their goal is single-minded. They push through any doubt or hesitation and decide to "really do it."

My acting professor always encouraged us with that phrase during scene work. We'd be almost gesturing, or barely emoting--thinking we were really hitting it, you know--until Daina said, "Come on! Really do it!" We didn't even realize there was further to go until someone said something. "Oh! You mean really do it!" we'd respond, surprised, suddenly realizing that we'd been half-assing our work.

One can afford to be a bad actor, but none of us can afford to kind-of pursue freedom, or lead an existence of quiet desperation or loud escapism. If Lesbian, Gay, Bi-attractional and Transgender people really want to be free, we have to develop Clarity of Intention about achieving our freedom.

This means holding the intention to be free higher than lesser desires.

For example, we may experience the understandable desire to feel secure and safe although the drive toward freedom demands some measure of risk, like coming out publicly. This is like saying that we want a diet based on regular cupcake intake in order to reach a healthy weight! Each of us must make clear distinctions between activities that move us toward the goal of freedom and those that pull it further from us.

If we really want to be free, each of us will work for freedom. We'll reprioritize lesser concerns:

• We will not be attached to forms but instead quick to adapt to new, more effective ways of making change.
• New voices and ideas will be welcomed.
• We'll get over the idea that joining a mailing list or writing a check every once in a while is the same as participating in a movement toward freedom.
• Change will become a friend instead of an enemy.
• We'll listen deeply to friend and enemy alike, releasing our preconceived notions of who others are and what they want.
• We will spend our time more wisely, focusing less on the immediate gratification of our senses and more on developing our capacity for genuine happiness.

Do Queer people really want to be free? I believe it, but I don't often see it. Let's all listen to our inner voices, like my teacher who saw that I wanted to be acting and wasn't, saying, "Really do it!" We can end our struggle sooner, with a joyful, natural and abundant life for everyone, if each of us develops the Clarity of Intention to achieve liberation.

Comments

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