Issues Aren't Obstacles, But The Finish Line

You know, I'm beginning to suspect that tragedy is not unique to our community. It is the universal human condition. I think the reason our community seems so tribulated (new word!) is because the people are more honest about their struggles. If someone is going through crap, we all know about it. It is shared. It's because we encourage people to be authentic and open about their lives. I abhor pretension. I hate hypocrisy. Especially in myself! Friendship is encouraged. Friends know each other and should be patient with each other. We used to think that we had to get through our issues so that we could finally get with the program as a church and climb our ladder to success. Finally, we realized that dealing with our issues IS the program. Analogy: like marriage, Lisa and I long ago realized that working on our issues so that we could achieve a perfect marriage was misdirected. We realized, with joy, that working on our issues IS marriage. That is what relationship is. This is how we do community. We've ceased trying to reach a goal. Getting together and staying together, with love, IS the goal. Simple as that. Do not confuse it with anything else. That is what love is. It requires tremendous energy, but the rewards are amazing.The fine art photograph is the creation of my friend Amaris.