7
" Powerful I am a form of God's design! I will have whatever my mind is set on; I will be whatever my desire is to be, Around me rolls the power of universe.I stand to gaze and praise myself loud, For my greetings waits the entire nature,I have made choices out of my self-loveI have held to thoughts to please my ownI have taken charted plans to make beautiful way Where I live in a closet of peace with spiritual gainI have the power to change darkness into dazzling light, I have the courage to struggle for my deserving right.With my choices I ride ahead to capture vision and goalsBut it seems life still loves the green grasses and games,Then I fear as I deceive myself and cheat my knowing Soul,For greed of wants, desires I manipulate my Divine own. But the joke is still I achieve what I want in a better way,No one knows how happy I am to be in this humble way,Past is gone and it better leaves me alone for now,My true romance is only with my dear lovely future.I have strength of ocean within me and power of God, Who dares to break me down will never be able to at all,I am the most beautiful design created by my God,His infinite power and tender heart inherited by me...the powerful one- Harshada Pathare "
9
" Some lurid things have been said about me—that I am a racist, a hopeless alcoholic, a closet homosexual and so forth—that I leave to others to decide the truth of. I'd only point out, though, that if true these accusations must also have been true when I was still on the correct side, and that such shocking deformities didn't seem to count for so much then. Arguing with the Stalinist mentality for more than three decades now, and doing a bit of soapboxing and street-corner speaking on and off, has meant that it takes quite a lot to hurt my tender feelings, or bruise my milk-white skin. "
― Christopher Hitchens , Christopher Hitchens and His Critics: Terror, Iraq, and the Left
12
" Too often the survivor is seen by [himself or] herself and others as " nuts," " crazy," or " weird." Unless her responses are understood within the context of trauma. A traumatic stress reaction consists of *natural* emotions and behaviors in response to a catastrophe, its immediate aftermath, or memories of it. These reactions can occur anytime after the trauma, even decades later. The coping strategies that victims use can be understood only within the context of the abuse of a child. The importance of context was made very clear many years ago when I was visiting the home of a Holocaust survivor. The woman's home was within the city limits of a large metropolitan area. Every time a police or ambulance siren sounded, she became terrified and ran and hid in a closet or under the bed. To put yourself in a closet at the sound of a far-off siren is strange behavior indeed—outside of the context of possibly being sent to a death camp. Within that context, it makes perfect sense. Unless we as therapists have a good grasp of the context of trauma, we run the risk of misunderstanding the symptoms our clients present and, hence, responding inappropriately or in damaging ways. "
13
" Make no mistake, hiding one's true self away in a closet and creating a facade of heterosexuality is not without its consequences. It may appear to have a degree of safety but from my experience they are very unhealthy places and do all kinds of terrible things to individuals psychologically, emotionally and behaviourally.....to say nothing of projection. The damage of the fear, shame, guilt and self-loathing that exist inside a closet are often reflected unknowingly in the external life of the individual. In or out of the closet; there is a price to pay. Each individual must weigh up the consequences of honesty, openness, secrecy and deception for themselves. Coming out, for most of us, is like an exorcism that releases us of the darkness we have lived in for years and caused us to believe awful things about ourselves. On the other side of the looking glass are freedom, light and life. "
― Anthony Venn-Brown OAM , A Life of Unlearning – a preacher's struggle with his homosexuality, church and faith