There was much I enjoyed about the land of my ancestors. There are ways life there is better than the life we live here in America. Everywhere I went there was an obvious sense of community. The people I met seemed to live life at a slower pace and with a more obvious sense of enjoyment than we do here in the U.S.A. I found that a wonderful thing.
I had the chance to talk at length with a few locals and I was charmed by their attitude of willingness to live their lives and let others live theirs. It's a virtue, we've somehow forgotten here in the U.S.A.
I was greatly surprised that in a country which I thought of as very Catholic, many seem to have thrown off Catholicism while retaining a real sense of spiritualism and faith in God as they define it for themselves, refusing to accept the definitions the Pope would have them abide by.
It occurred to me that the people I met there were, in a very real way, doing what gay and bisexual men should be doing, coming to self acceptance of the realities of their lives and living their lives on their own terms, not on terms defined by others.
Like my ancestors, these people possess a remarkable will to carry on, and they have learned to meet the hardships of life with a remarkable philosophy of self reliance, a can do attitude and a determination born of necessity.Again, it occurred to me that these are the very same qualities required for a guy to meet the demands of successfully living the life of a bisexual or homosexual man. I think it important to note that these are all qualities and not rules. There are no hard and fast rules for living one's life successfully as a bisexual or homosexual man. There are many paths to success which vary by individuals and their circumstance, but the qualities that insure success are, more often than not, universally applicable.
As many of you know, I went to Europe for a purpose that included more than just returning to my ancestral home for the first time. I'll have more to say about that in an upcoming blog piece.
Jack Scott
Gosh, what a profound and meaningful experience you relate here. It will be interesting to see how this all filters into your heart over time. You don't mention your motherland, but I am assuming it is either France or Italy because of the Catholic references. And now you are in the last truly free state in America, Texas. I enjoy your blogsite very much and am deeply interested in your perspective. Please continue.... Tim
ReplyDeleteThanks Tim, I am glad to hear you enjoy the blog.
DeleteThe experience in Europe was profound. Though I had been to Europe before, I had never had the chance to socialize and talk with ordinary folks at length. To have the chance to do so was awesome.
It's funny you should mention Texas as the last truly free State in America. I found explaining Texas and America to people in Europe was very difficult. For one, they simply cannot understand a State that is similar to or bigger than most of their countries in size. It is difficult for them to know just where Texas legends end and reality begins. But Texas is first on the list of many of them for places they hope to visit.
It being a political season in America, I was frequently asked what I thought of President Obama. As I'm a Texan I don't think much of him, of course. Explaining why was very difficult for them to understand as he is very popular in Europe. One man upon hearing that I was not a supporter of Obama, had not voted for him and would not vote for him asked if I was a member of the Ku Klux Klan.
I guess he took my lack of support for Obama as a racial thing. I had to patiently explain to him the many failures of Mr. Obama and (at least in my opinion) his total lack of experience to be competent in leading the most powerful nation on earth. I assured him, that while Mr. Obama was a good man, one I would be glad to have as a neighbor, those qualities did not make him eligible to be or capable of being a good leader, at least from the perspective of those of us in Texas as well as those not living either on the west or east coast. I explained that I think of myself as that most rare of political animal, a moderate Republican, and that I had, in fact, voted for Bill Clinton twice; and would gladly vote for him again.
It was an interesting experience.
Jack Scott
Really nice story and amazing experience bisexual
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your comment Peter.
DeleteIt was an amazing experience, and I enjoyed it greatly.
Jack Scott