February 5, 2025 - Choose Peace by Connecting with People Who Understand

I'm talking about peace this week, so I thought I'd start today with the definition of "peace" - "freedom from disturbance". There has certainly been a lot of "disturbance" in the news the past few weeks, but today I want to focus on how we are able to claim peace for ourselves. Yesterday I talked about spending time with those who love us and who, "have our back" as a way to help us experience peace. Today I want to talk about places you are able to find more people who, "have your back".

It is essential for us to "build" a strong wall of support around ourselves and there are places we are able to go in person and on-line to connect with others - consider the following resources -

• If you are part of the queer community, check these links -
• Youth Pride Association at this link - they work, "to promote and foster the acceptance of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) people in educational institutions. We work to address the alarming and substantial hardships LGBTQ youth face in schools."
• The Trevor Project at this link - they say, "You deserve a welcoming, loving world. And so do the people you care about. Here you can reach out to a counselor if you're struggling, find answers and information, and get the tools you need to help someone else."
• Equality Federation at this link - they are, "an advocacy accelerator rooted in social justice, building power in our network of state-based lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) advocacy organizations."
• There are many more wonderful groups filled with people who want to help - you will find them in this excellent article at this link.
• If you are being bullied, check these links - 
• The National Association of People Against Bullying at this link - they say, "We are a non-profit foundation which provides direct anti-bullying services, education, and support to students, families, and schools."
• Stop Bullying at this link - they provide resources to help stop bullying.
• If you have physical or mental challenges, then please check this article which has a wealth of resources which will provide help at this link.
• I want to say if you find a local church, you will find people to help support and encourage you - and while there are churches still where this is true - such as the Episcopalian church where Bishop Mariann Budde stood up to and spoke to the current president, sadly not all churches are safe places. But, there are some which are and finding them may be helpful.

I found a wonderful article by Joel Calfee, which I linked to above, but I want to quote something he wrote - "It can be hard not to lose hope as many more years of Trump loom before us, but the truth is LGBTQ+ people have existed for centuries, and no matter what actions the new president takes, queer and trans people will continue to exist, and fight for our freedoms, long after him. This is not a time to back down, but to band together, and to look out for each other in all the ways we can."

I wholeheartedly agree. You will find the full article - which is WELL worth reading - at this link. Knowing resources which are available to us and connecting with people who understand and will, "have our back" are ways to help us have peace - and you all deserve to have peace!

Once again today I want to send you my virtual "hug" - You matter. You deserve to be loved and are loved - I love you! You make our world a better place - we need you in this world. I hope you have people around you who tell you these things, but if not, please let me be someone who does. Yes, I say this every day, but these words are true and will always be so. You will find the video at this link.