A Zen Tidbit

[piasharn]

I had a Zen moment a few days ago.

I was thinking, as I so often do, about the big deal that is being made about homosexuality as of late. In particular, I was contemplating the issue of gay-marriages and some recent debates I've gotten myself into.

(Side Note: While not as frustrating as debating with someone who claims I make all my information up, attemting to reason with a person who constantly makes blanket generalizations and tries to put words in my mouth is still a rather irksome experience. His claims that I know nothing about history or civilizations was particularity annoying. Admittedly, I'm no erythros, but I'm not completely ignorant on the subject. Of course, he ignored me when I tried to point that out and used historical evidence to back up some of my arguments. Oh, well...)

It seems that some people think that legalizing gay marriages will cause some sort of significant change in our society. I've been trying to point out that this is a silly notion. Homosexuals exist, have always existed and will continue to exist. Like it or not, they will live their lives, settle down and start families. They have already been doing so for years now. The only thing that will change is that the government will give their unions legal recognition.

That's all.

I've asked opponents why acknowledging something that already exists will destroy our society. I have yet to get a direct response, and it's once again grating at me.

I was getting worked up just thinking about it, so I went outside to look at the stars. This has always been a calming activity for me, and I started to meditate on a fact about starlight: the light that we see each night is millions of years old. That's how far away those stars are... they could all have gone nova this instant and we wouldn't know for many millenia.

It kind of puts you in your place, doesn't it?

It occured to me that things happen before we realize them. And I'm not just talking about starlight here. The world changes under our noses and we don't notice it for quite some time. (Wasn't is John Lennon who said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."?)

Gay marriages will happen. Our society has been moving in that direction for decades now. In a cosmic sense, I suppose it has already happened, we just haven't caught on yet.

This issue has not triggered any negative emotions in me since that moment. I see all the arguments, read the rants, hear the debates and just smile to myself. It is beyond our abilities to control something like this. You might as well try to push back the tide.

Time flows on like a river and carries the world with it. Only diety is eternal, and all we can do is adapt to the changes that are given to us.

Comments

[lee17.livejournal.com]

what a positive outlook! that's a wonderful way to think of things in general. :) yay for zen moments.

[piasharn.livejournal.com]

Whenever I start to debate with someone on the subject, or even when I'm reading Letters to the Editor in the local papers, I keep that thought in mind. It's so nice not to get frustrated about the whole situation. And it's a wonderful stress reliever as well! ^_^