Newspaper Page Text
Page 13
Health and Healing
The gay and lesbian community is challenged to find and improve ways of maintaining
our health and healing our hearts and our bodies. This column will offer insights and
advice by various writers with a range of viewpoints and expertise. To submit an article or
request a topic, contact Franklin Abbott in care of Southern Voice, P.O. Box 18215,
Atlanta, GA 30316.
Coming Out to Health
Health is a lot like coming out. Coming out means we choose to take charge of our own
lives, to accept ourselves as we are and not as anyone else would have us. Coming out
means saying "YES!" to ourselves as valid, worthy human beings. Taken to its fullest
measure, coming out goes far beyond just saying "I am gay". It says, "I value myself
enough to be true to ME!”. Coming out is a commitment to respect and affirm ourselves, to
create lives that are meaningful and fulfilling. Health is an integral part of that commitment
From within the closet, coming out seems to be a single event, something we can do in
one night with a special letter or well-rehearsed phone call. Yet all of us who have sent that
letter or made that call know that it was just the beginning. Beyond coming out is living
out
Living out means being our own first priority. It means taking care of ourselves,
expecting the best, and doing all we can to reach it To do anything less is selling ourselves
short, going back toward the old closet labeled "I'm not as good" or "I don’t deserve".
Living out means living fully, and living in health.
Health is not a thing or a one-time event, any more than coming out is. It doesn't come
from one trip to the doctor, one shot in the arm or a single exercise program. And it doesn't
come from anyone else. Health is a quality of life that comes from within us. We create it
day by day, hour by hour, through a series of small, positive choices. Health comes when
we value ourselves enough to make choices that support us.
Creating health is sort of like weaving a tapestry. Each choice we make is like a thread
that either strengthens the fabric and adds beauty to its design, or weakens and mars its
integrity. When challenges occur, whether they be physical, emotional, or psychological,
we have the chance to test the fabric's strength. If we have woven well, it stands up strong
and whole. If not, it can fray or tear. How
well we weave is up to us. We are weaving
our lives in each moment The threads extend
into every area of our existence.
Living in health means that we choose to
honor our bodies. We can take time each day
to support them with clean diet good
exercise, adequate rest and a healthful
environment We can give ourselves time to
be relaxed, to laugh, dance and have fun. We
can choose to be in jobs that give us pleasure
and fulfillment
Living in health means supporting
ourselves in thought word and action. It
means learning to lighten up, to be gentle
with ourselves, and to do what we enjoy
most It means creating a network of friends
who truly support us, who help us affirm our
highest potential. It also means that we speak
of ourselves with pride and respect letting go
of old language patterns that put us down,
even in jest. Every thread, however small,
affects the whole tapestry.
wavne smith Attitudes are vital. Growing up gay (or
John R. Stowe anything else, for that matter) gave us all a
chance to develop images of being different
or unworthy. Negative thoughts about ourselves, however subtle or well-hidden, affect how
we face the world. Living in health means hunting out those old tapes and replacing them
with new, positive affirmations. We can be openly gay, happy, loved and successful all at
the same time.
Living in health means letting go of guilt, resentment, and brooding over past hurts. It
means forgiving ourselves and others, and learning to express our emotions fully. It means
learning to love ourselves as we are. It means working at relationships until they support us
totally.
Even difficulties can contribute to health. Instead of feeling devastated or powerless, we
can begin to take responsibility for our own condition. We can learn ways to help
ourselves, even if only a little at a time, and learn to get appropriate help from others when
we need it. Any condition can improve with a change in attitude. We can all learn from the
increasing numbers of people who have survived serious disease conditions - even cancer
and AIDS - by embracing their challenges as opportunities to grow and to love themselves
more fully. Not easy, perhaps, yet possible.
So where do we begin? We can listen to our bodies, examine our lives and see what isn't
working. And then take steps to improve it. We all start this process at different places.
Each of us must determine our own highest priority and go from there. What would be a
good first step? A diet or exercise program? Relationship counseling? A vacation? A
more fulfilling job? Once we choose to help ourselves, there are abundant resources -
books, professionals, support groups - to help us. The commitment and responsibility,
however, can come only from ourselves. And we can do it!
Health is a lifelong process. OUR lifelong process. Only WE have the power to give
ourselves health, just as only we could make the choice to come out. It is not always easy.
But neither was coming out. It is vital. Every moment, every thought, word, and action, gives
us a chance to cast a vote for ourselves. We can continue coming out, first as gay, and then as
healthy, vital, fulfilled human beings. Shall we? I vote "YES!"
- John R. Stowe
John R. Stowe, M.S., IMT, has a private practice in massage and body centered therapy in
Decatur. He has taught college biology, is creator ofEARTHFRIENDS Flower Remedies,
and author of two books on vibrational healing.
“What does the daughter inherit?
In-her-it lives.
In-her-it becomes
The secret to remember...
In-her-it is feeling
In-her-it is knowing
In-her-it is believing
In-her-it is telling
ln-her-it is healing...”
To sustain the voices. To support the dream.
truth. To empower the Present, To feel Love
Process/Support groups now form
Incest and childhood sexual abuse.
V \;
unt!^
%
r/l,3 v., y
** deserve Love* lb*** ^
^•fdewveLw'l^
KATHY M. LEWIS
Personal Fitness Trainer * Nutrition
Counselor ‘Circuit Training * Free
igftt Training ‘Competitive Body
building * Nutritional Evaluations and
Personal
Fitness Trainer»Nut rftion Cou nseior
Circuit Training * Free weight Train
Nutritional Evaluations and
seiing * Bodyshaping • Personal Fit
Trainer ■ Nutrition Counselor
Circuit Training
1 * 51 if $
Nutritional
Evaluations
seiing - Personal Fitness Trainer
Coult
404 493 4711
K.A.R.U.N.A
COUNSELING
Individual And
Relationship Counseling
Groups And Mediations
Established 1974
1549 Clairmont Rd., Suite 108
Decatur, GA 30033
(404) 321-4307
Subscription Order Form
$28 per year
PWA-Free
Name
VtjVAViViVi
SOUTHERN
Address
State
ZIP
Amount Enclosed $
Please make checks payable to Southern VolceA
Send to: P.O. Box 18215 Atlanta, GA 30316