it's just my humble opinion, but...

Kim Kardashian is getting a divorce.

After just 72 days of marriage.

Oy vey.

(E! is probably having a reality show boner over the juiciness within upcoming episodes of the Kardashian klans plethora of programs...)

So, it's just my humble opinion, but...

Full disclosure, I have no room to judge. I myself got married at a young age to an incredible person and it simply was not meant to be. I'm certainly one of the "lucky ones" (huge understatement) in that we both managed to survive the separation without too many scars (and have moved on to find more appropriate love as very different individuals).

I get it. Divorce is shitty and complicated, and it hurts to be in this sad, humbling scenario...but it happens. People in glass houses and whatnot. I fully recognize that relationships are very rarely exactly how they seem from the outside, and since people are truly complicated little beings, I strive not to judge others, or their partnerships. "Never make assumptions": It stings when people do towards me, and I have no desire to do it back.

People sure are up in arms about her filing though, aren't they? Part of me can't help but roll my eyes and think who gives a crap. Do we really take anything the Kardashian family does seriously? Besides their advice on nail polish colors and embracing our curves, of course :)

But the one piece of contention that keeps cropping up on all the various forms of social media which I wholeheartedly stand behind is folks disappointment in how this "news" reflects on the country's coo-coo bananas definition of the "sanctity of marriage"; Mainly the fact that someone like Kim, who made MILLIONS of monies off her nuptials, can get married and divorced in 72 days--can be celebrated and applauded and paid MILLIONS of monies to be married on national TV--but same sex couples remain deep in the trenches of today's modern civil rights battle, fighting to be recognized + accepted for their partnerships.

What's up with that?

Enter the God card.

First, let me state I have a lot of admiration for a variety of religions and their teachings; I think faith can be a wonderful, healing, beautiful thing. And yes, I deeply believe in God & Spirit. But I also find it increasingly necessary to respectfully excuse myself from places where religion begins to dictate life in a fashion that is deeply unsettling to me. Particularly when it comes to love.

Second, I want to tell a little story.

Shockingly, I have been boy crazy my whole life. (Right, Marm?) Even as a kid I was constantly crushing and chasing after the boys in my classes, writing in my diary things like "I love Kevin! He is sooooo cute!" (what can I say? I have a way with words). I love the male species. I love the way they smell. I love when they make you feel tiny and safe (you can pick me up and spin me around? fireman carry me over your shoulder? yes, please). I love when they are playful and goofy and I love that they are often drama free sources of giggles galore. I love chivalry. I love watching the wheels spin in their problem solving brains. I love athletes. I love geeks. I love adventurers. Oh...you're an athletic geek who loves to adventure? How many babies can we have together?

My sister, on the other hand, has always been as cool as a cucumber when it comes to guys. She hardly ever talked about them, swooned over them, or let them get under her skin. While she is currently in a fantastic relationship with her boyfriend of several years {update: husband! wahoo!}, for a long time boys just weren't really on her radar....besides maybe her best pal growing up, our neighbor Brian, whom she basically tortured on the regular. (Belle, remember that home movie of you forcing Bri to stand still, shivering and cringing, while you blasted freezing cold hose-water on him in our backyard? Classic.)

Suffice to say there came a time in early high school when my mom and I had a little chat in the kitchen on the vast differences between Belle and my boy-craziness. After a few minutes I jokingly said "well, maybe she's gay?".  I will never forget my mom's response:

"If she's gay, she's gay. It doesn't matter. Gay, straight, black, white, disabled...it really doesn't matter. We would love her regardless. So long as you girls bring home a kind person who truly loves you, is good to you, then they are welcome here."

High five for my mama, right?

I am so grateful to have grown up in a home that was proactive in teaching their children to accept all walks of life--to show them compassion and acceptance, kindness and generosity.

I guess you could say I was raised in the church of say please and thank you, be nice to people, and always give back.  We attend service daily in our hearts and in our actions. Love is our one and only commandment. It is a choice we practice making, however imperfectly, and will continue to pass down to our children for generations to come.

What it boils down to for me is this (and remember, it's just my humble opinion);

Do we people of faith really believe in our heart of hearts that when our souls leave the planet and meet our maker, He/She/It will look at us and say "You should not have loved that person." ?

Because I don't believe that.

I believe with every cell of my being that God/The Universe/Buddah/Jesus will instead take our hands and say,

"I am so happy you loved."

Why make it more complicated than that?

Love and light,

Trish