Loves In Need Of Love Today

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Welcome back everyone to Ask Velvet Podcast. As many of you know, I'm getting ready to participate in the Capitol Pride Parade here in Washington DC. And I am extremely excited about it. I've been telling friends, family, co-workers, and just about anyone who will listen that I'll be walking in the parade. It's something I'm genuinely looking forward to because I believe in celebrating people for who they are and supporting communities that deserve love, acceptance, and respect. Now while talking about the parade, someone asked me a question that caught my attention. They asked, Are you gay? I looked at them and said, Well, if you're asking whether I'm happy, then yes, I am a very happy person. That was my answer. Not because I was trying to avoid the question, but because it made me think about something bigger. Why is a person's sexual orientation often one of the first things people want to know about someone? What does that have to do with their character, their kindness, their dreams, or their humanity? The more I thought about that question, the more I realized that we spend a lot of time trying to put people into categories instead of simply getting to know them. For me, when it comes to love, I keep my options open because life has taught me that you never know how love will appear. You never know who will walk into your life, who will understand you, who will support you, or who will make your heart feel at home. And honestly, why should anyone else be concerned with how another person loves, who they love or how they identify themselves? At the end of the day, we're all human beings. We're all deserving of love. We're all deserving of respect. We're all deserving of grace. That's one of the reasons I love Pride Month. Yes, it's my birthday month, which makes it special already. But it's also a month that encourages people to be themselves, to live authentically, to love openly, to stop hiding and stop apologizing for who they are. Every day when I wake up, I try to be myself while also becoming a better version of myself. That's a journey all of us are on. And I think that's what pride represents at its core. The freedom to exist as you are. What makes me sad sometimes is how much energy we spend judging one another. We judge people for who they love, how they dress, where they come from, what they believe, and what makes them different. Imagine how much better the world would be if we spent that energy simply accepting people and appreciating the unique qualities they bring into our lives. We don't have to understand every person's journey to respect it. We don't have to agree with every life choice to treat someone with dignity. And we certainly don't have to fit into the same mold to recognize each other's humanity. That's why I'm proud to support the LGBTQ plus community. I believe everyone has the right to love and be loved. Everyone deserves to feel safe being themselves. Everyone deserves to be treated with kindness whether they're black, white, purple, orange, gray, or anything in between, because love is for everyone. As I prepare to walk in the Capitol Pride parade, I'm carrying that message with me a message of acceptance, a message of respect, a message of love. And maybe that's something all of us could use a little more of right now. As Stevie Wonder once said, love's in need of love today. And I think that's true now more than ever. No matter who you are, where you come from or who you love, remember that your humanity matters. Your story matters. Your happiness matters. So let's spend less time judging and more time listening, less time dividing and more time understanding. And most importantly, let's remember that every single person deserves the opportunity to love and be loved. Thank you for listening, and I'll see you next time.