Big Sisters Rule

So, alright, you knew I had to respond to my sister’s FB post right!? After all, she asked for Blogging advice. }:)

Maybe this carries over from Sara’s side of our family, or maybe it’s just us; but the freedom and acceptance to be who you are has always been a given here. On Sara’s side I, personally have enjoyed the freedom to stumble, screw up & learn with never a question about love, acceptance & freedom from being judged. In the 20yrs. that I’ve been a member of Sara’s family, I’ve never once heard the label of LGBT, there has just been “family”, sister, brother, cousin, Aunt, Uncle. Even those marriages broken, have become family’s extended and grown bigger; with healing and time. It has truly been humbling to witness what love and tolerance can accomplish.

I am closely familiar with the judgment & intolerance that motivated my sister’s post. I know today that where I’ve always encouraged and enjoyed discussion and debate; there are certain lines that she and other members of my family will not cross. It is in these very topics that we find ourselves broken & mired today. What’s left me speechless; until now, has been her desire to finally take a stand, and to do it in such a way as to announce to her closest friends and family that her ideas and opinions will be heard. It is beyond sad; it is heartbreaking to know that these obviously spiteful and hurtful things can be coming from the very people who know us to be a loving and caring family. It’s not like we don’t talk, as a matter of fact, us five (4 sisters & I) talk more today then ever before. I can remember another sister saying, (& I paraphrase) that she’s spoken to many a medical professional who “may not believe in God, but they sure believe in miracles”. To say that you have no respect for a person with faith is to say that you have no concept of what respect is. Respect must be offered before it can be returned; my dad taught me that. There’s your objective truth!

When my sister wrote of Youth & Inexperience, I found myself humbled as I realized, yet again, that there is much I must learn. My heart has broken so much in recent years. There has been far too much loss, the loss of friends, family and parents to time and memoriam can pale when compared to the loss of those relationships you hold most dear. It’s laughable to me today to read & hear the passion of science over religion. History’s greatest thinkers have all shown that the two must be united. So much of the most powerful science being funded today amounts to nothing more then a thought experiment. The Socratic Method was derived and proven by the same man that taught us: “I am wise; because I know, that I know nothing”. This is inescapable truth, for those of us that have experienced it. Where youth and in-experience fail, wisdom understands. One cannot learn, until one accepts their ignorance. When we’re convinced we are right, we cease to be teachable, and we stagnate. This becomes visible to anyone who’s experienced it in their own lives, and then easily see it in others.

Next to writing, the sharing of my life’s experiences remains the driving force behind my day to day. It is my hope that by sharing my experiences with drugs, alcohol and the lifestyle that accompany them; and then my subsequent recovery, that I may be a positive spark to ignite change in others. As a result, I’ve been blessed w/ opportunities to talk w/ adults & youth alike. I have worked tirelessly to develop a factual presentation that’s both informative and educational. I remain in contact w/ local police & addiction services always ready to offer my time. I witness youthful ignorance almost daily. The meme’s are all over social networks, about pot saving lives, and being beneficial. You read it everywhere: that “you can’t compare marijuana to heroin”, as if one psychoactive is any safer then the next. It is a sad thing, when you’ve made it your life’s work to educate and inform, and still we see our young people dragged into mainstream media hype. More often then not, they can’t even tell you why they believe what they believe, except to quote more rhetoric. You try to explain that heroin is an opiate and that there are, in fact even safer opiate derivatives then pot, that won’t damage healthy lung tissue and if they’re not staring at you glazed over, then usually they want to know where to score it }:/

Youth and Inexperience, two words I need to keep close to my heart. I remember being 30yrs. w/ a new house, new car and a $30/hr. job. 15yrs. later and all I see are youthful ignorance and inexperience. I have none of those things now, what I do have is far more valuable; a wife & best friend; 4 children that are every bit the free thinkers I’ve hoped they’d become; I have friends who are so much more then mere acquaintances and four amazing "big sisters" (& brothers in law) that I can never be thankful enough to have. I am truly blessed, in the biblical sense of the term and staying w/ biblical definition I am rich among men! In modern terms, I am living the dream.

Oh, and my advice for the blog? Stick w/ the facebook posts, they're less controversial, & I think your fan base there will tend to be more supportive }:)

Love; S.