Night Shift

Thankyou very much for saying that @Kurra. I agree.

Yep, people are people to me regardless of all else. Love and compassion above all!

@Former-Member I haven't seen you around this week. I hope life has been kind to you this week. How are you?

Hi @Mazarita how's your day going? Did you get another good sleep?

Hey @eth, yes, a few more hours sleep since we last spoke. Have had a 45 minute walk on the beach too. 🙂

I've been wondering how @Former-Member is going too.

Hi @Kurra, well said!

Hi @Shaz51, thinking of you and hubby.

@Former-Member, good on you for making the bed and doing the dishes. I still haven't got to the dishes yet. Are you in SEQ too? It was a bit windy out on the beach here today, was holding onto my hat. 🙂

Hi @eth 🌺

Sorry, a few domestic duties got in the way 🙂

So glad it's helping you to talk. It's hard to keep things bottled up, and I don't know about you, but when I start to chat about things that are cluttering my mind and heart and are difficult to process, hearing them coming out of my mouth or down on paper helps me to see things a little more clearly in the process.

To clarify, I'm sure we all know that gender dysphoria is not something new. So where have all the people been who have been struggling with it previously ? They have either been struggling in intense private pain, living a secret double life - a different public one to their private one - or have been feeling as though it is something they can't even admit to themselves and trying to live the lie that everything is okay with them in bothe the public and private arenas of their lives.

Revisiting social strictures can release these people from that dilemma, but that is obviously an understatement. It's nowhere near that simple. There are intense personal struggles, issues of acceptance, issues with family relationships .... I don't have to tell you any of this ❤️

At the heart of any issue, this or many, many others, lie people, and people gotta live !!! We have to start always with basic human needs of empathy / love and acceptance of the person themselves. Everything else is layers on top, diverse layers that create our individuality.

As the "rules" relax and the issues are brought out into the open, of course you will have teenage (and otherwise) rebellion, where people who have not struggled with this issue "try on" the "lifestyle". Sorry if that could have been more sensitively said, but I think you know where I am going with this, and it's not to do directly with your daughter. Others will cloud the issue for personal attention, social statement, vindictiveness towards I accepting family, or whatever. It will be messy, as these things are, but as we move past that stage, I hope and pray we will be supporting these, our hitherto "hidden" society members to be mentally and emotionally well.

Aside from contentious differences between us, everybody has value, everybody has gifts, everybody deserves consideration and respect.

That is foundational to most religions and spiritual concepts.

Be well @eth. Hugs ❣

Hi @Former-Member

Sounds like you have been busy today, and got some good structure going in the housekeeping. Funny how outward calm and order helps to support the tin the inner world as well. Good on you !

I got the bed npmade, some sink clutter cleared and some food supplies back into the house. That might be it for today. Roast in the oven for dinner. All good.

We sure have had some wild storm activity this morning. I expect to see cows flying past any minute. Ducked out during a lull for the shopping, but happy to stay out of it otherwise. Ditched the idea of a morning walk quite early in the day.

The river will be high tomorrow. Happy dolphins !

@Faith-and-Hope Thanks for your considered response. What do you mean by "revisiting social strictures"?

Hi @eth

The meaning of "stricture" is a restriction on a person or activity, or a sternly critical or censorious remark or instruction.

So a "social stricture" is a restriction placed by social "rules" of the society you live in.

Of course these rules differ between cultures and societies to some extent, and we are talking about life here in modern-day Australia.

Even if governmental laws change, there has to be social acceptance of differences too, otherwise people are still subject to remarks and comments, or being socially mistreated despite what the law supports or not.

It will take time to relax the strictures that have been in place that have defined what is acceptable or not up to this point in history, and new social boundaries will emerge.

I don't want to start a debate on this point in the here and now, but whether public bathrooms ought to be available to people according to the gender they identify with will be hotly argued about for some time, I'm sure.