What is coming out? Traditionally, that means coming out as gay, which I did when I was 15 years old. Recently though, I felt the need to a second coming out, I felt the need to tell my friends and family that I was a spiritual person and I liked meditation. But, why the need to tell people? Shouldn’t spirituality be something personal that you keep for yourself? That’s actually a very commonly used argument against the real need to come out as gay. But here’s why I beg to differ.
Coming out to me means aligning the “outer reality” with the “inner reality”. As kids, we first define who we are by what we are being told about ourselves: we’re smart, we’re dumb, we’re just like our father or mother, we’re patient, we’re not, successful at sports, good at maths, artistic, etc. But then comes an age where we start to realize that we might not be like people around us have told us we are. In some fields, their perceptions contradicts ours. This is what happened to me when, at 15, I told my parents I am gay. It wasn’t easy (I was then thinking about suicide) but now, at 32, my life is much better because coming out meant greater alignment with my inner and outer world. Of course, for that, you need an outer environment (society) that is safe or that is – at least partly – willing to change.
I argue that everybody – gay or not – has to come out in his or her life at some point. And probably more than once! We all have to make a bold move once and publicly declare that we are in such a way or that we like something outside of the ordinary. Ash Beckham, in her TED talk, describes it beautifully.
Shine Brighter Now 