Equality Between Groups

I recently had a brief interlude with a woman who was really into feminism. She said that feminism was about equality between the two genders, yet when I inquired about why it was called feminism as opposed to something like gender equality, she got heated, pointing out that it was about women having the same rights as men. (This being equal to That. Duality.)

I left the conversation, noticing how fired up and angry she was getting, and figured I’d move the discussion here.

It’s really common for us to move from one extreme to another when trying to find a balance. It’s similar to how a pendulum needs to swing from one end to another before gradually finding balance in the middle. A totally normal process in life. Nothing bad or wrong happening here.

When it comes to finding a sense of harmony between two apparently polar opposites and uncovering the essence of harmony and balance, ultimately what we’ll need to do is to throw out the labels entirely when we look at a person.

Are you a man or a woman? Who cares?

Are you black, white, or something else? Who cares?

Are you rich or poor? Who cares?

Are you gay or straight? Who cares?

Are you asleep or enlightened? Who cares?

Are you my enemy or my friend? Who cares?

Are you my significant other or a beggar on the street? Who cares?

When you look at a ladybug, do you care if it has 10 spots on its back or 8? Does this change how you feel about the ladybug? Probably not… For one reason or another, we buy into an arbitrary set of rules that say that this trait makes this person more worthy than that trait on that person. Baloney!

Unconditional Love doesn’t look at ANY of that. In fact, these differences are utterly irrelevant!

The essence of that which you are is what it is regardless of any superficial appearances. The Love that flows unconditionally is just that: unconditional. It doesn’t flow in spite of XYZ, as if it tolerates something it doesn’t like and yet puts up with it anyways, no no. It just doesn’t even consider XYZ at ALL.

By analogy, the sun doesn’t care if you are a good person or a bad person, black or white, man or woman. It shines on everyone equally because that’s who it is.

Regardless of if H2O takes the form of water, ice, or steam, it’s all still H2O. It’s about looking beyond appearances, into the sameness beyond name and form.

This isn’t to say that we should stop differentiating between this and that, man and woman, black and white, and somehow lose the ability to tell the difference. What IS being pointed to is to not let any mental judgments come between the sense of Oneness and Love that is everpresent in this moment.

This Unity we can feel with “others” arises prior to any mental sense of differentiation, prior to any mental judgment or ranking system.

You are loved. You are worthy. You are acceptable. You are forgiven. You are beautiful. Just the way you are. Whether you change anything or change nothing at all, your inherent sense of worth will remain just the same.

By virtue of that which you are: a nameless expression of All That Is, you are inherently worthy of all the freedom, joy, love, and appreciation.

In the end, it’s not about women’s rights, gay rights, animal rights, human rights, or any of that, for in focusing on “the rights of this subgroup,” you are automatically creating a sense of separateness, even if “this subgroup over here” is ideally meant to be equal in whatever way to “that subgroup over there.” In practice, this rarely happens…

Returning home to a place of Oneness ultimately leads us to an end of all division and separateness within, even though differentiation may still be expressed without. Externally, Oneness does not imply sameness.

We are ALL ultimately on the same team here. In fact, there is no team. There is just this, here and now. There is only this. This is it. What we call you and I are not separate. We are not two.

If you’re going to be an activist standing up for the rights of someone or something, stand up for the rights of everyone. Stand for the rights of universal peace and acceptance. Stand for unconditional love for the one and the all.

It’s not about this group or that group, but all groups and no groups. It’s about that which is beyond grouping.

It’s about the letting go of dualistic separation and really, truly, reconnecting back to the inherent sense of Oneness that never actually left and is always here.

Raise two fingers in peace, one finger in unity, open your hand as emptiness, and stand tall as All That Is.

Love. <3