The Unclad Soul

I have walked through many lives, some of them my own, and I am not who I was, though some principle of being abides, from which I struggle not to stray. ~ Stanley Kunitz

Below is a link to a terrific essay. It is written by a friend of mine in Los Angeles. She used this essay to come out and declare herself as a Lesbian.  Regina Cates is a beautiful soul, loving and kind, fun and funny, and brilliant! Her story is moving and so needed. Once a man-hater, and with too many good reasons to be so, she allowed herself to evolve, soften, learn, and grow in ways that enabled her to at last have genuine male friends. Here is a part of her story. Please Read This!

The movie, “Annie,” has been remade and the cast includes a young black girl as the star. Quvenzhané Wallis , a ten-year old black actress is Annie. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her role as Hushpuppy in the 2012 movie, “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” when she was only 8 years old. If you have never seen that movie please watch it. Wallis’s performance is brilliant, moving and powerful, as a child living in poverty and chaos with her hot tempered and ill father. The new Annie brings a fresh approach to the original movie and Broadway musical. I celebrate the choice of Quvenzhané Wallis for the leading role. She will be wonderful. Not everyone is happy about this, however, and rude critics have shown up on social media channels like Twitter and Facebook and elsewhere. Some really vicious things have been said about this child actor. Racism still exists in this country and, sadly, always will, I suppose. It is expressed in people who are terrified of change and ...

If your religion helps you manage your addictions; if it creates a safer home environment for you and your loved ones; if it enables you to treat others with respect and worth; if it guides you into responsible life choices; if it enriches your inner self and leads you into a deeper understanding of the human condition; if it nurtures your sense of compassion and causes you to lift up the fallen and the hurting and the damaged and the left out; if it encourages you to embrace all people whatever their race, beliefs, social status, or sexual orientation; if it celebrates the earth and asks you to take care of it; if it ultimately provides you a healthier human spirit, then your religious beliefs and practices serve a useful purpose. But if your religion gives you permission to hate or mistreat other people; if it makes you feel superior to all other religious beliefs; if it says you will always be better than those who don’t believe; if it promises you rewards at no cost to you at...

Let’s let it be said that too much of Christian religious talk and action today is a wild distortion of what we have traditionally understood Christianity to be. This fear driven, hostile, endlessly close-minded Christianity of today is a vulgar mishandling of faith. It is a treacherous attack not on liberalism, socialism, atheism. Its target is humanity. And with unscrupulous ferocity it is deadening the spirits of its followers, and, it is literally destroying any possibility of cooperative problem solving in this country. The institutional Church, whatever Christian form it currently takes—Protestant or Catholic, Liberal or Fundamentalist, Strip Mall setting or giant Multiplex Citadel—is in danger of total irrelevance simply because of the grotesque arrogance of today’s far right radical, strident, offensive Christians and their pervasive attacks on people they dislike. They’re not picky. They’re after anyone who does not walk in lock step with their extremism. This row...

A controversial new law co-written by a right wing policy group and a Christian legal organization and passed by the Arizona legislature is called the “Religion Bill.” Supposedly it’s about “religious freedom” for business owners who don’t want to serve or have any business dealings with gays because it offends their religious beliefs. It has other ominous features to it but its thrust is discrimination against those in the LBGTQ community. The legislation has not yet been signed by Governor Jan Brewer, a staunch Conservative and Tea Party advocate, but the fact it ever reached her desk is dismaying and alarming. The growing audacity and bullying tactics of radicals in the Christian conservative movement carries so many contradictions to the true spirit of Christianity and the whole idea of religion. These people have lost their way. There is nothing that identifies them any longer with the Jesus they claim to worship and serve. I personally find their schemes, their gimmi...

Can you be 3? What space ship did time travel in to speed you to this age? How quickly you have grown with your red hair no longer wild in its babyish play but now sitting so poised on your beautiful boy head I remember seeing you crawl in your other house as you made your way to the toy chest where you seemed so small But now you run tall with the wind and whiz past me trailing giggles and joy and leaving a presence that fills the room and my heart It is clear that at age 3 you are comfortable in your big boyishness with a smile that radiates a love of yourself and others and says, Hey, life is sweet! My space ship is going fast too and I want it to slow down a little so I can catch up with all those years coming when you and I can swim in the ocean together and walk the beach and laugh and talk just you and me © 2014 Timothy Moody