Samantha Eve Yoga
  • Welcome
  • Samantha Eve
  • Schedule
    • Workshops and Events
  • Blog
  • Tink's Table
  • Contact

No Filter

The blog saying all the stuff you wished someone would say...™
Photo credit Samantha Eve Yoga and C. Costanzo.
​Copyright 2019.

A Lesson in Tolerance

6/17/2016

0 Comments

 
Since the horrific Orlando shootings, I have seen an outpouring of love and hope for the LGBT community. It is heartwarming to see such support, only I wish it did not take an act of violence for us all to come together.

So many people have used words of love as they comfort those who have lost so much, so tragically. But I have also heard talks about "tolerance." And in the words of Inigo Montoya from the Princess Bride, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
Tolerance is allowing the existence, occurrence, or practice of something that you do not necessarily agree with or like, to happen without interference. It implies that you are enduring something unpleasant rather than making it stop.
When I taught high school students new vocabulary, I had them do various activities to show they truly understood the new word. Things like skits, illustrations, and concrete examples. So in the spirit of true education, let's give it a try, grown-up style:
 I go to my yearly OBGYN visit because it is a necessary checkup for my health, and thus far, no one has invented a better method to check those parts. However I find the experience unpleasant even though I allow it to occur. That is tolerance.
In the aftermath of another violent, heinous action by a very disturbed individual, I hear people talking about promoting an atmosphere of tolerance for lifestyles that they don't agree with, or religions that they don't subscribe to, or pretty much anything that someone believes, that they do not. And while I applaud them for starting a conversation about ideas and choices out of their comfort zone, I'm not ready to pat them on the back for their so-called enlightened attitude. In fact, I say screw "tolerance". ​
As a woman in a committed relationship who has chosen voluntarily not to have children, I get my (UN)fair share of judgmental comments.

And yes, my bits and pieces work just fine. No I do not hate children, I love kids. And no, I do not think I should have children because a religious icon thinks it is my duty, or because someone else cannot have them.

So when I think about those who cast the first stone at my choices - the choices they don't like, understand, or believe in - I realize that while I do not want them to judge my choices, I also do not want them to "tolerate" my choices. 
Tolerance implies that one person's truth or life, is superior to another person's truth or life.
The ACTUAL truth is each and every one of us have aspects of our lives that someone else would not understand, would not choose for themselves, would not want for someone else they loved. But before we decide to "tolerate" someone else's lifestyle or choices, I ask that we take a moment to see the world through that person's eyes. Better yet, step clear into that person's soul for a moment and look back at ourselves and ask...
  • Would I want tolerance, or would I want respect?
  • Would I want a concession that my life is okay, or would I want understanding that I am just being the best person I know how to be, making the best choices in life that I know how to make?
  • Would I want someone to put up with my existence, or to try and love me exactly how I am?
What we need is love, understanding, and respect for us all as human beings who live, breathe, and share this beautiful planet.
So while the politicians are duking it out over the next move to keep our communities safe:
  • things like gun control,
  • help for mentally disturbed people,
  • the war on terrorists,
I am going to take my stand right here and now for the one thing I can control...the way I choose to view my fellow human beings regardless of race, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexuality, or the thousands of other facets - both of our choice and those we have no control over - which make us individuals.

​And so I say, down with tolerance. 

​I choose love.

Orlando, my heart is with you.
Picture
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    About the blogger

    Hi! I'm Samantha Eve aka Tink - a kick-a$$ girl boss, party-til-dawn, warrior princess of a yogi, vegan, free-spirit, dancer, model, teacher, coach who - whether rocking a power suit or lingerie, lives life to the fullest.

    A few years ago I WOKE the BEEP up to my life and realized that I had become LESS THAN who I AM. So I set off on a journey that took me ALL AROUND THE WORLD, and somehow landed me in Boston. When I arrived once again I started to live small until I became PRESENT and EMBRACED who I am, realizing  that I NEVER again wanted to represent myself as LESS than WHO I AM.

    Austin Powers once said "How do I tell her that, because of the unfreezing process, I have no inner-monologue?" And since warming up to my life I too have no filter. 

    So join me on this exploration of topics on everyone's mind yet no one seems to want to chat about.

    ​It's time we all got a little wacky, a bit wild, and a lot more vulnerable, and open to saying exactly what we think. 

    Inhale
    Exhale

    Let's do this.

    Archives

    November 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    February 2019
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015

    Categories

    All
    Current-events
    Editorial
    Europe
    Healthy Living
    Travel
    Vegan
    Yoga

    RSS Feed

Stay connected...
BE inspired to a life with smiles both on and off your mat!


BLOG

No Filter - The blog saying all the stuff you wished someone would say.

Find Tink (Samantha Eve)

Schedule

Interested in CHANGING YOUR LIFE?

Contact Tink (Samantha Eve) Here
​.
  • Welcome
  • Samantha Eve
  • Schedule
    • Workshops and Events
  • Blog
  • Tink's Table
  • Contact