Steven Shomler

Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Consultant ~ Speaker ~ Culinary Storyteller ~ LifeStory Alchemist

Finding My People – My League of Awesome Allies 

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It is my conviction that we all need encouragement and belonging.

I know for sure that I need encouragement and belonging and the dark & deeply troubling time that my beloved country is going through right now has helped me realize that I want to find and connect with “my people”.

Due to my compassionate pastoral heart I care about people with many different backgrounds across a wide political and religious spectrum.

To be clear – my sincere care for others –  even those with different values than me – comes from my vocation (my very long-term pastoral calling).

I have noticed that those who are MAGA / Trump supporters have found “their people”, and they share a lot of validation, encouragement, and belonging with those who are also MAGA / Trump supporters.

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I Want to Find and Connect with “My People”

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We all need to find our place in the Great Belonging.

I very much want to connect with people who have similar values as me.

I want to give & receive validation, encouragement, and belonging with those who are “my people”

Here are a few “values” that are particularly  important to me  – right now – at this point in my journey:

As you read the words below let them help you decide whether you and I might be each other’s “people”

My “political” beliefs are deeply rooted in my passionate commitment to the (formerly ?) American ideal known as Freedom.

Here are two of my “political” beliefs to help you decipher whether or not you and I might be each other’s “people”

No. 1 – Because I value Freedom, I am very much NOT in favor in oppressing women with things like “Covenant Marriages”  and I am very much NOT in favor of having men write laws that restrict a woman’s choice when it comes to their own reproductive health.

To my way of thinking forcing women to give birth is a horrible dystopian abuse of power.

Side Note – I very much think that there are dark and sinister reasons that some MAGA / Trump supporters want to ban books like The Handmaid’s Tale and The Hunger Games.

No. 2 – Because I value Freedom, I think that both heterosexual and homosexual couples should have the freedom to marry.

If you want to oppress women, or if you only want heterosexual couples to have the freedom to marry – then we are not each other’s people.

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Due to Awful Experiences I Had…

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And as long as I am being painfully transparent about some of what matters to me – I was a full-time honest to goodness pastor for many years – both Occupationally and Vocationally.

Due to awful experiences I had while I was working occupationally as a pastor, I struggle quite a bit with American “Christians”

In my journey I have found that many (but not all) American “Christians” are graceless, unkind those who believe different from them, tend to be shallow thinkers, and are emotionally unhealthy.

Or to put it another way – in my experience some (many?) American “Christians” are religious cosplayers who sometimes don’t actually like and often don’t really know the source material –  i.e. whether you like it or not – Jesus really did have and teach some pretty “woke” values.

I love the lyrics in Jelly Roll’s song The Lost.

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Coming in My Next Article

 

So with all that being said what are some positives things I am hoping to find present in those how are “my people” ?

I have come up with 4 LAA (League of Awesome Allies) axioms and I will share those in my next article.

Love to ALL of you!

Steven

 

League of Awesome Allies