To be in her presence is to take off my shoes
and dance wearing the shoes of another
For my shoes are seen as not good enough
my shoes are seen as damaged
my shoes are seen as flawed.
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Dance with my mother
24 Jul 2012 1 Comment
in Family Tags: Authenticity, Family, Gay, Shame
Bringing Passion to Play
23 Apr 2012 Leave a comment
in Passion Tags: Authenticity, Gay, improvisation, play
In January 2010, I started taking improvisation classes. This was something that I had thought about doing for sometime, having falling in love, many years prior, with the show ‘Whose line is it anyway?’
Deep down, I had also felt that I’d enjoy throwing myself into ambiguous situations, not knowing where things might end up. Okay, intellectually I knew I’d enjoy it, and yet emotionally I was thinking, ‘I must be crazy embarking on this!’
Taking the risk to be myself
10 Jan 2012 1 Comment
in Risk Tags: Authenticity, Gay, Risk
As each year goes by, I have begun to notice that I feel more comfortable in my own skin, and in my interactions with the world. Yes, I still get those moments where I find that I am over compromising to fit into the demands of another. However, those moments are no longer the norm of my life. I am noticing as the years go by, that I am taking more risks at being myself.
In a recent post, I shared my reflections on ‘being different and the journey towards self-acceptance’. The fact of the matter is, for a long time that second wolf I talked about was running my life – ‘the wolf of conforming and hiding, in order to feel a sense of validation and acceptance’. The wolf of compromise, and playing small. More
Reflections on being different and the journey towards self-acceptance
09 Dec 2011 2 Comments
in Reflections on 2011 Tags: Authenticity, Family, Gay
There are two stories my foster mum recounts from my childhood each time I see her. No matter how many times I hear those stories, it always feels like the first time, with me hanging onto every word she utters.
The first story is from when I was about 4, and I went with the family to see ‘Bedknobs and Broomsticks’. When the song ‘The beautiful briny sea’ came on, I burst into song. Not only did I sing, but sang loudly in the crowded cinema. My foster brother told me to keep quiet, as I was disturbing people, to which I responded firmly, ‘no, I know the words and I am going to sing along’. And so I continued singing. More
OutTales around the Fire 